“You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death.”
Psalm 30:3 NLT

Many of us understand exactly what the Psalmist is describing. There was a time when our lives were headed in the wrong direction, souls speeding toward destruction, caught in patterns of sin and brokenness. Yet even in that condition, God saw us… and had mercy on us.

The Apostle Paul reminds us:

“But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Romans 5:8-9 AMP

There was no condition we had to meet. No work we had to accomplish. He spared us because He loved us! Scripture is clear:

“The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 AMP

That “free gift of God,” new life, didn’t cost us anything but our brokenness, but it did cost Him everything including His life! Who could every comprehend the depths of that kind of love? 

I remember once speaking at a youth retreat. The subject of the Saturday night session was “The Love of God.” Before the evening service I walked outsaid to have some quiet time with God. “Lord, how can I explain how much you love these teens?” 

Suddenly I had a vison in which I was standing on the seashore of a giant ocean. There was a Plastic, 2-liter Pepsi bottle laying at my feet. “Put the bottle in the water and let it fill up,” the Spirit said to me. As I did the water began flowing into the bottle. It filled and filled until it was immersed in the water. “Just like this bottle, you can’t possibly know the depth of My love for you.” It was at that point I understood His message. Just like that bottle, we can only contain so much of God’s love before we must simply be immersed in it. Scripture reminds us:

““Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in and relies on the LORD shall be surrounded with compassion and lovingkindness.” Psalm 32:10 AMP

God’s love is not small or limited. It surrounds. It fills. It overwhelms. The prophet Isaiah wrote:

“For from days of old no one has heard, nor has ear perceived, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and acts in behalf of the one who [gladly] waits for Him.”
Isaiah 64:4 AMP

We were destined for judgment because of sin. But God, in His love, made a way through Christ. Not to leave us where we were, but to bring us up from the grave. So take time today to reflect on that truth.

You have been rescued.
You are loved.
And you are invited to live in that love.

Reflection Question

Are you trying to contain God’s love, or are you allowing yourself to be fully immersed in it?

Have a blessed day,
Pastor Ken