Devotable Daily Devotions

Daily Devotion - Episode 182 - Love the Lord and be Faithful to Him


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"Love the Lord, all His faithful people! The Lord preserves those who are true to Him, but the proud He pays back in full" Psalm 31:23, NIV

It seems as though we love everything and everybody but the Lord. Furthermore, we've watered down the word "love" so much. We no longer understand the true meaning behind the concept. The Hebrew word translated "love" in this verse is 'ahab' which means "to have affection for" (see Strong's H157).

Yet, we are called to more than merely "like" God. We are called to have affection for God, to truly love the Lord. As a matter of fact, we are called to love God with "all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength" (Mark 12:33). Our love should compel us to put God first in everything, in all our decisions. Our hearts, understanding, and strength should be tied up in our love for Him.

When you love someone, you don't want to hurt them nor disappoint them. True love is proactive. True love seeks out ways in which to demonstrate the affection we say we have. Thus, God's "faithful people" should proactively love Him.

Jesus touched on this when He told His followers, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Yes, loving God includes loving people.

Loving the Lord has its privileges. He "preserves" those who love Him and are true to Him. Just like preservatives in food, God keeps us fresh and fruitful. God takes care of us. He guards us and keeps His eyes on us. He fights battles for us and works all things together for our good (see Romans 8:28).

A Warning about Pride

There's a warning in this verse, though. The writer warns us about being proud. The proud love themselves instead of loving God. They think about and seek glory for themselves instead of seeking to glorify the Lord. The writer says God will "payback" the proud doer in full. The reward, the payment here, isn't a good thing.

We are encouraged today to love the Lord and to be faithful to Him. We don't have to worry about the consequences of loving God. Indeed, we can rest in confidence that He will preserve those who love Him.

Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-love-the-lord-and-be-faithful-to-him/
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Devotable Daily DevotionsBy Devotable