Isaiah 54:7-8
“For one brief moment I left you; with deep love I will take you back. I turned away angry for only a moment, but I will show you my love forever.” So says the Lord who saves you.

Have you ever felt the pain of a broken relationship? It stinks doesn’t it? My best friend left me. Wouldn’t call anymore. Wouldn’t see me. Just stopped being my friend. Why, I wondered. Did I say something to offend? What did I do? I felt terrible. It was like my friend decided to hide!

That’s how Israel must have felt. In this scripture, God is telling Israel that she is like a young wife, deserted by her husband. But God couldn’t stand being separated from his bride in spite of her wayward ways. His love is too deep. So he took Israel back and promised to show her his love forever.

Hard as it is to believe sometimes, God promises the same thing to us – to show us his love forever! Don’t miss that word show!! He promises to SHOW us his deep love always, day in and day out. Think about that. Can you see where God has shown his love for you in your life? Sure, you can. We all can if we take the time to look for it. You see, unlike so many of us, it’s not enough for God to simply say, “I love you.” God shows it with daily blessings, blessings we often take for granted; forgetting to see that they are God’s good gifts. And his greatest gift, of course, is Jesus -- the One who saves us.

Jesus asks us to do the same; to SHOW love, not hide it, day in and day out, even to those we don’t particularly like. Can you do it?

Prayer

Lord God, you show us how to love. Help us 
to show love to others and not keep it hidden; for the 
sake of him who showed his love by stretching out 
his arms on the cross. Amen.