Unfailing

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:22

I was listening to a song the other day and it had a line in there about God's unfailing love. I sang along with it, stopping on that word.

Unfailing.

Do we even really understand that?

I mean...there are several verses in the Bible that talk about this characteristic of God, and I think many of us know His love is unfailing. I think we also realize that on a daily basis we fail. I know I do. I get upset. I get jealous. I doubt...you name it, I'll feel one (or more) of those on a daily basis. One day I'll be perfect, but it won't be until I get to heaven.

But God is already there. He is the ultimate picture of perfection. Which means He never fails...never.

But do we always believe that?

See. Years ago God spoke to me, rather clearly, that Doug was going to be the man I would marry. Problem was, we were just friends. Good friends. And I didn't see him as more than that. Then God changed my heart in a big way and I fell in love. It took about a year for Doug to agree we were in love :) And then we decided to date.

Well, I don't have to tell you, since God had already let me in on the secret that Doug and I were made for each other, I knew that now we were dating it was only a matter of time.

Wrong.

Doug broke up with me. And it didn't just happen once. We dated. Broke up. Dated. Broke up...and they weren't nice break-ups. What had happened to the promise God showed me? I was, after the second break-up, rather sure God had failed somewhere along the line. Um...there was no diamond on my finger, and the man He told me I was going to marry had just said (rather un-calmly) "We are never, ever, ever getting back together." (No lie. You can only imagine what happened in our house when Taylor Swift's song came out! I am still laughing!)

Either God had failed in the message delivery, or He'd failed in delivering the promise...either way, He failed.

Only He hadn't.

See. God had given me a promise of my future, but not so I could figure out how to get there on my own, but so I'd have something to cling to when nothing else made sense. If anyone had failed, it was me in making the road map to His destination for my life. And at one point, I had to decide, was I going to believe in His promise for me--even when it looked impossible--or would I sulk off, upset in His perceived failure, and wind up missing all He had for me.

It took me a while. I have to say, I did sulk some. But when I finally gave in, God could bring me to where He wanted me to be. It still took time. There were still bumps in the road, but boy did my faith grow. And can I say, once Doug and I married, I could look back and see so many, many reasons God brought us together in the way He did. God hadn't failed. Not at all.

And I could trust Him. Because His love for me--because HE--is unfailing. Which means constant, sure, reliable, everlasting.

Are you in a spot right now where you're struggling to hold to one of God's promises for your life and you think He's failed you? Remember this: God has a purpose and plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11) and His love is unfailing. Search the phrase "unfailing love" on Biblegateway.com. Read those verses. He may not have given you the complete road map, but His word is true and He will never fail you. You will get there, put your hope in Him, it's the safest place to be.