“And said, I beseech thee O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandment” – Nehemiah 1:5(KJV)
Our God is described here as the “the great and terrible God”. However, in His terribleness, He keeps covenant and shows mercy to them that love Him. God can be very terrible to sin and perpetuators of evil, but He will ever be a loving and caring God to those who love and follow His instructions. He is actually our father because we can see this attribute demonstrated by our earthly fathers. No father will be proud of a robber and notorious son. The bible says in Proverbs 17:25(KJV): “A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him”. So it is also with God. He is all knowing while man is very limited in knowledge. So the Almighty expects that man should humble himself to be properly instructed in his ways. It is the stubborn refusal to be properly instructed that has resulted in very wrong foundations that are responsible for many calamities and atrocities on earth today. God knows that man’s disobedience to His instructions are detrimental to man’s existence on the earth, and in order to checkmate such negative consequences, God has to come down heavily on man’s disobedience. This is God’s terrible side. God demonstrates His love for man through keeping His side of the covenant with man and showing mercies. God is Love and whosoever that loves is of God. When we love God we attract His favour and mercy. God’s love passes human knowledge and understanding. It is very deep and powerful. When we love God He dwells in us and through us begins to replicate His acts among men. It is our love for God that sets us high above and keeps us untouchable. It is the love of God that makes us commanders in the field of life. Faith works by Love. You cannot have faith in the Word of the God whom you don’t love.
We command exploit through our love for God (Daniel 11:32). The love for God made the three Hebrew children wonders in Babylon. The human fire could not consume them because they were surrounded by the fire from heaven which works by love. The Lions lost their thirst for blood when love moved to protect Daniel in the Lion’s den. Overnight, the love of God transformed Joseph, an imprisoned slave awaiting execution, to become the prime minister of a nation. God’s love took David, a forgotten ruddy shepherd boy to become the King of Israel. We can continue with examples non-stop. This is the very great side of God. To crown it all, our love for God should be a reciprocation of His unfathomable love demonstrated at Calvary for the salvation of our soul. He gave us His son as the price of sin he never committed. That the just has to die in the place of the unjust. A man will protect the wife he loves with everything within his power, so also God will bring His power to bear in favour of His beloved. Romans 8:28(KJV) clearly said thus: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. Please note that the bible says “all things”. So be rest assured that no matter what your situation is now it will definitely work out for good if you love God.
Loving God is your gateway to a life of exploit and unlimited favour. Brace up and shake off the dust of sin and seek him who paid the price of your sin and reciprocate his love shown towards you. God will meet you at your decision point in Jesus name.
Prayer: Father thank you for your great love shown to me at Calvary.
Bro. Joel Ezeugo