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Psalm 103:1-12
Of David.

Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

In Christ we are significant, secure, accepted, forgiven and empowered. God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins and that love continues to embrace every day of our spiritual journey. In his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer helps us understand the extent of God’s great love.

God’s Word assures us that He desires to be our friend. Tozer says, “No man with a trace of humility would first think that he is a friend of God; but the idea did not originate with men.” God Himself said that Abraham was His friend, and He desires the same friendship with us.

Love is an emotional identification. Tozer writes, “It is a strange and beautiful eccentricity of the free God that He has allowed His heart to be emotionally identified with men. Self-sufficient as He is, He wants our love and will not be satisfied till He gets it. Free as He is, He has let His heart be bound to us forever.”

Love takes pleasure in its object. “The Lord,” Tozer says, “takes peculiar pleasure in His saints. . . Christ in His atonement has removed the bar to the divine fellowship. Now in Christ all believing souls are objects of God’s delight.”

It’s hard to grasp such an all-encompassing love. We know our sin and failure. Yet God continues to embrace us with His love and forgiveness. How do we respond to such unconditional compassion?

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me when I am unlovable. Thank You for forgiving my sin and failure. Thank You for a relationship with You through Jesus. Thank You for calling me Your friend. In Jesus’ name. Amen.