His Faithful Love

He Has Not Given Up on Me — Not Once, Not Ever

The word the Bible uses for God’s love is one of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture. In Hebrew, it is chesed — a word so rich that English does not quite have a single word for it.

It means love that does not let go. Love that has decided. Love that does not change with circumstances or moods. Love that is bound by promise, not by feeling. Chesed is the kind of love a parent gives a child — not because the child has earned it, but because the child belongs to them. It is the kind of love that keeps choosing, even when it would be easier to walk away.

That is the love God has for you. His chesed never ceases.

We do not always feel this kind of love in human relationships. People come and go. Some loves grow distant. Some loves disappoint. Some of the people we expected to love us through every season did not always make it through the seasons with us. And as the years go on, we sometimes find ourselves quietly wondering: Am I still loved? Or have people stopped seeing me? Am I forgettable now that I am older, slower, smaller in the world’s eyes?

I want you to hear something today.

I was visiting an older woman in our community a while back — a faithful believer who had walked with the Lord her whole long life. She had lost much over the years. A husband. Several close friends. Some of her independence. Some of her energy. And she had been thinking, that particular morning, about all the years behind her and all that had changed.

We talked for a long time. And near the end of our visit, she looked at me with eyes that were both tired and clear, and she said something I will never forget:

Her voice trembled when she said it. Not from sadness. From gratitude. The kind of gratitude that comes from looking back over a long, complicated life and seeing — really seeing — that through every season, through every hard year, through every quiet day when she felt invisible to the world, God was still there. Still loving her. Still calling her His.

He had not given up. Not once. Not ever.

That is what Lamentations 3:22 is promising you, too. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed. You are still here. Still breathing. Still loved. Still cherished. The fact that you woke up this morning is proof that God’s love has not run out. His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness.

His Nearness is His Faithful Love. God’s love does not fade with age. It does not weaken when our bodies do. It does not diminish because we are no longer in the season of life the world considers most useful. It is not based on what we can still do, or what we can still contribute, or how we look in the mirror. It is based on who we are to Him — and who we are to Him has not changed since the day He first knew us.

If you have lived a long time, you have seen many loves come and go. Some have stayed. Some have not. But there is one love that has been with you through every single one of your years — through the seasons you remember, through the seasons you have forgotten, through the times you felt His presence, and through the times you wondered if He was paying attention. He was. He always was. And He still is.

His love is the anchor that has held you steady through every storm. It is the steady, quiet, faithful presence underneath every other relationship you have ever known. And it will be there when every other love has come and gone — gentle, unwearied, still choosing you.

Today, rest in His faithful love. Not because you have earned it. You have not. None of us have. But because He has given it freely, completely, and forever. Let that warm your heart. Let it calm your fears. Let it remind you that you are deeply cherished — every day, by Someone whose love has never let go of you and never will.

You are not forgotten. You are not invisible. You are not loved less today than you were on the day you were born. The God who loved you then loves you now — with the same faithful, steadfast, unwearied love that He will still be loving you with on the day you finally see Him face to face.

He has not given up on you. Not once. Not ever.

• Today, when worry rises or loneliness creeps in, say this slowly to yourself: “God has not given up on me. Not once. Not ever.” Let that one sentence carry you through whatever the day brings.
• For the Next Generation: The world measures love by usefulness, beauty, and productivity. The Bible measures love by faithfulness — by what stays, not by what is impressive. Ask an older person in your life: “How has God’s love stayed with you over the years?” Their answer may quietly rebuild the way you understand what love really is.