– Joe Fornear
Charles Spurgeon, who was a powerful Bible teacher, was walking with his friend through the 
English countryside. He noticed a weather vane on the roof of a barn. There was not a rooster on top, simply the words “GOD IS LOVE.” Spurgeon said to his friend that a weather vane seemed an inappropriate place for such a message. He said, “Weather vanes are so changeable, but God’s love is constant.” His friend replied, “I think you misunderstand – regardless of which way the wind blows, God is always loving us.”
Even in the fiercest headwinds of our lives, His love comes through. Human love has its limits – but His love never fails. As Lamentations 3:22-23 says,
The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
These “breakthrough” verses in Lamentations were written by “the weeping prophet,” Jeremiah. He found God’s love to be the silver-lined cloud amidst the devastation caused by Israel’s rebellion from the Lord.
Centuries later, the famous song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” was inspired by these very verses in Lamentations. Because the song was so moving to us, my wife Terri and I chose it as one of our wedding songs. The lyrics were penned by Thomas Chisholm, who struggled with his health and finances for decades. Both Jeremiah and Chisholm wrote during times of great distress, and both found God’s love to be steady and sufficient!
As we triumphantly walked the aisle at the close of our wedding, Terri and I never imagined the firestorm of cancer which would one day blow into our lives. In 2003, at age 44, doctors believed I had a terminal case of Stage IV metastatic melanoma. I can still recall the powerful gusts of pain and suffering. I was caught in a hurricane and desperately trying to hold on… to anything. Yet in the midst of my lamentations, God’s love was so consistent and available. His love broke through my self-reliance and my do-it-yourself approach to fighting cancer.
How about you – are you facing the trial of your life? Where are you turning for help? Be assured, the Lord is able to help us weather any storm, no matter what form it takes! Keep in mind, however, dependence on His love is learned. He will teach us; and unlike ourselves or others, He is very patient with us. And thus we close with Paul’s very fitting prayer from 2 Thessalonians 3:5:
May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ.
