God’s Unfailing Love

Have you ever loved someone, who didn’t love you back?

It’s the most difficult and painful experience on earth. Perhaps, you’ve experienced a time when your significant other said he loved you, but his infidelity along with other actions demonstrated that he didn’t love you at all. After all, actions speak louder than words. In his mind, he loved you. But the truth was that he loved himself and his fleshly desires more than he loved you. The love you had for him, was genuine but, it couldn’t keep you together. As a matter of fact, you would never have been able to trust him. And it would have gotten more and more painful for you to keep loving him.

Or, maybe you’re a guy who continued to love, but wasn’t receiving what you were giving. You planed dates and bought gifts, but your significant other didn’t care and didn’t respond. You loved her, but her love was missing. The hurt and rejection was to much to handle and your one-sided love didn’t make a relationship.

It’s the same in friendship. I love my friends dearly, but when the love isn’t reciprocated, I become hurt. When a close friend doesn’t show up to a scheduled visit or forgets to wish me a “Happy Birthday”, then I assume that our friendship isn’t valuable to her. While forgiveness is key to lasting relationships, hurt makes it difficult to continue loving others. After deep hurt, the friendship isn’t as bonded as it was in the past. Again, your love isn’t enough to keep the friendship thriving.

Then, there are many people who haven’t received healthy love throughout their lives. They lived in families who didn’t love well and may have even mistreated them. They’ve only experienced love as a form of manipulation. People who said they loved them only wanted to get something from them. These people are difficult to love because they don’t even know how to receive love, let alone give love. While my love may help, it’s not enough to heal a broken heart.

When your heart is broken because you love someone who doesn’t love you back, remember that God is close to the broken hearted (Psalm 34:18).

Think of Hagar…she was Abram’s second wife, his wife Sarai’s Egyptian maid-servant. Abram and Sarai had hoped to build their family through Hagar. While not uncommon for the times, it didn’t go so well. As we would expect, once Hagar became pregnant there was strife and Hagar ran away. Hagar had to have been heart-broken. She wasn’t a wife of choice, but was used to bear children. While pregnant, she still wasn’t loved and experienced harsh treatment by Saria. Yet, God was close to Hagar and His love is unfailing. The Angel of the Lord found her and spoke with her (Gen. 16:7). He encouraged her to return and confirmed that He was with her. “Then the Angel of the Lord said to her: You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction” (Gen. 16:11). Ishmael means God hears. God told Hagar what to name Ishmael. Everyday, she would call her child by his name and remember the unfailing love of God. She would forever remember that God heard her.

God confirmed that he heard Hagar, but that’s not all. Hagar realized that God saw her. “So she called the Lord who spoke to her: The God Who Sees, for she said, ‘In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” (Gen. 16:13).  And she even named the spring “A Well of the Living One Who Sees Me”. God was close to Hagar in her broken-hearted affliction. He heard her and He saw her and He revealed Himself to her.

When our hearts are broken and we aren’t loved by others, God is with us. He hears our cry and sees every tear that we shed. He heals our broken hearts. He’s the Living God who hears and sees us. He will reveal Himself.

God’s love is unfailing. “He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love” (Psalm 33:5). God’s love is faithful, merciful, kind, and loyal. God’s love doesn’t let us down or disappoint us. His love is good and pure. When others forget us, God remembers us. When others don’t love us, God always loves. When others don’t listen, God always hears us. When others ignore us, God always sees us. When others abandon us, God never leaves nor forsakes us. When others are unfaithful, God is always faithful. When others aren’t trustworthy, God is always faithful and true.

God’s unfailing love is powerful. His love enables us to miraculously love those who don’t love us. It’s not okay for a spouse to be unfaithful or for a friend to be selfish or for someone to remain untrusting. And there are times when we need to step out of a relationship that is one-sided. Yet, God’s unfailing love empowers us to forgive and patiently love, even when we’re broken hearted. He is faithful to teach us how to love. His love heals our hearts and gives us the desire to love others. In the midst of our relationship struggles, His love is working in and through us. His love has empowered many couples to work through infidelity and has bonded many friendships. His love has mended many broken heart filling them with the capacity to continue loving. His love is unfailing.