DAY 197

HESED

Psalm 13, 14 & 15 and Acts 19:21-41

Psalm 13 is a Psalm for when you are really struggling and, down and out. “How long O Lord…” begins the Psalm and then the author goes deeper in his lament. We have all been there, those moments of darkness: Those moments of doubt when we are so beat up, or so beat down, or so discouraged, that we are not sure it will ever get better. But then, like all but one of the Psalms, it ends on a positive statement – not about us or humankind – but about God: “but I have trusted in your steadfast love.”

The Hebrew word that we often read/translate “steadfast love” is hesed. The hesed of God is this kind of amazing, divine, never-ending, never-failing, love. It is the love of God that is always there – even when we cannot feel it, or see it – we believe in it because we believe in God. Hesed can make all the difference. It is the one strand that you can hold onto when all else has been stripped away.

You might ask, “Why? Why can I hold onto the idea of hesed?” The answer is because of all you have read about God, and all you know about God. If you have been reading the Bible with me then let’s ponder a few things. How faithful were the Israelites – the answer is not very faithful. Yes there were seasons, but on the whole they often walked away from God. How many times did God walk away from them, when they would call out to him? Answer – ZERO! Why – because of God’s hesed. Now am I not picking on the Israelites because I do the same thing, we just have the story of how God's responds to them.

Take for example the story of a few of the kings, who after they sinned would have a prophet come to them and “call them out.” Some of the kings (e.g. David with Bathsheba and later Hezekiah) would repent and seek God – and God would immediately, immediately show up. Why – because of God’s hesed.

I could go on, but let me just “cut to the chase” and ask what does Jesus show us? God’s hesed. He came and gave and healed and taught and loved…and was killed. Did he come back with wrath? No, he came with hesed. Even when we are “fools” God will restore (Psalm 14).

Hesed challenges the world, it challenges all that we chase…those idols. We see that point today in the Acts reading. There was “No small disturbance” (you have to love that language). And then we read about how “not small” it was. The issue is that following Jesus, following the One True Living God, means all our other idols are dethroned and torn down. We no longer need to stroke the fears of our hearts with idols because we know the hesed of God. In Ephesus we learn that they had quite an industry as they were the great temple keepers of the god Artemis – a god that was dethroned.

We may not have a Temple of Artemis, but we have our own idols that we have put on thrones…money, youth, sex, success, popularity, and more. The problem is just like Artemis they are false and they fail us. None of the things I just listed are inherently bad when they are used as directed by God. They become a trap to us when we make them idols, and they fail us, indeed destroy us. God does not fail and rather than destroy He restores. And (I think this is a big AND) He never leaves for He is a God of hesed.

I came across one definition of hesed: “the consistent, ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant, unrestrained, furious love of our Father God!”

And now, may God, the One True Living God, the God who will never forsake you, may this God and His hesed envelop you.