This morning I chuckled as I read Psalm 86:5 where David writes about the Lord, “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call on you.”
Why did I laugh? Well, in the margins of my Bible, for years I had written down the ways I wanted God to show me His abounding love.
I knew best. I made demands. I outlined how this love would look. I actually listed the manuscripts I just knew He would honor with book contracts (these never came).
All these years later, I’ve learned it’s fine to tell God what you’re hoping for in life. But I’ve also learned to trust that God will demonstrate His abounding love to me in precisely the way He wishes that most meets my deepest needs and brings Him the most glory. I’ve learned that when God says no to any request I make of Him, it’s because He’s doing something else, some infinitely greater thing.
God cannot help but demonstrate His abounding love. He will, and He did.
I think of the truth: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). When I think about Jesus, the abounding love of God astonishes me.
He gave us Jesus.
We have a priceless treasure, a marvelous gift, a matchless offering. When we think about Jesus, we know how loved we truly are.