Devo: In For the Long Haul
If there is one complaint I hear about our generation from those who were raised in the generation before us, it’s that we’ve lost the concept of commitment. We’ve become a generation readily willing to give up if something doesn’t work out — whether it be careers, relationships, or personal goals — our desire to commit once it gets hard is slowly fading.
Sad but true, too much has become disposable in the eyes of our generation. We’ve stopped fighting for the things that matter because it’s easy to give up and find something else.
So if there is a grateful praise I can offer up, it’s, THANK GOD He isn’t like that towards us! Can you imagine Him walking away from us because we got too difficult to handle or because we messed up again?
We are not the easiest of people to like, let alone love. We are moody. We are inconsistent. We are so unappreciative. I mean, sometimes I wonder how God could put up with us but listen to what He tells us in His word:
I am GOD, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—
incomparable, irreplaceable—
From the very beginning
telling you what the ending will be,
All along letting you in
on what is going to happen,
Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul,
I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10)
“I’m in this for the long haul!” Wow! How comforting are those words?!
We could all attest to the pain of having people giving up and walking out on us in our lives.
But God…
He is incomparable. Irreplaceable.
He knows hard work. Do you realize how long He has been pursuing us and how He continues to pursue us? Chasing after us relentlessly…aggressively with His love. Even in our disobedience, His kind of love commits to never give up on us. His character won’t allow Him to give up on you. It won’t allow Him to let you go…you’ve been tattooed in the palms of His hands. He is in this journey with us for the long haul. When it gets ugly. He’s there. When it gets dark. He’s there. Cleaning up our mess with His healing. Bringing light with His Hope.
He doesn’t know how to forsake. He doesn’t know how to neglect. That is out of His character because He is love and if His love is unconditional, then He must be committed in nature—no matter what! He only knows how to commit.
And today He is reminding us that even when we give up on ourselves–Even when we throw in the towel and want to walk away from it all, He is still there with us. He’s in it for the long haul–catching our tears in those moments of brokenness. Breathing His life into us—reminding us that we still have purpose to fulfill. Come hell or high water, trust that He is not going anywhere. And He will do exactly what He has set out to do because I don’t know if you have heard but,
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom” (Isaiah 40:28).
What a mighty God we serve!!
Peace, love, and blessings,
Yodit
