Try Before You Buy


God’s love for us is immense, and it’s more than I can comprehend and although I’m pretty confident I’m his favourite (and have been for almost a decade), this week the Lord unloaded a fresh dose of even greater love. Or rather, it wasn’t greater love but my understanding of the depth of his love was increased. He can’t love me more because his love is already at capacity. There was never a moment since the creation of the world that he loved me, and you, less and there will never be a moment when he loves me, and you, more. The only thing to change is our understanding of the depth of his love.

It’s true if you know him and it’s true if you’ve never heard his name or deny his existence. God loves, period.


One of my favourite passages is Isaiah 45:3, I will give you treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel who summons you by name. I return to the verse time and again and I use it often to encourage others. It’s such a familiar passage to me I rarely turn in my Bible to it because I’ve memorized it but this past week I read the whole chapter and I received new insight.

Isaiah prophesied God would make Cyrus leader over Babylon, 150 years before Cyrus was born and 75 years before the people of Jerusalem (and Judah) were exiled. At the end of 70 years (according to Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Judah) Cyrus would let the Lord’s people return to their homeland to rebuild the temple and the wall.

The Lord gives his word in advance so men would know he is Yahweh - the God who covenants with his people - and there is no other beside him. The declaration in itself causes me to fear the Lord but the words that caught my attention are found in verses 4 & 5, “though you have not acknowledged me.”  God chose Cyrus, to honour and bless him before he (Cyrus) acknowledged him (God).

Likewise, Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. God never expects us to show him our poker cards first. He puts up the risk first and invites us to respond. Romans 2:4 says the kindness of God leads to repentance, not repentance leads to his kindness.

You’ll never believe me if you haven’t experienced it. My wish is upon reading this, you will be moved into a deeper understanding of God’s love and you will walk in the experience of his love. His heart beats for you. And you are his favourite.

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