God IS Love - #266

God doesn’t just show love… He is love. It’s not something He turns on or off. It’s part of His very nature. It’s who He is. That’s why His love for you is steady—because He is steady. 

Transcript

Let me start with a question that might feel a little uncomfortable, but it’s important. What if God were fickle? What if His love for you had limits? What if there came a point where God finally said, “That’s it. I’m done. I’ve had enough of your sin, your failures, your back-and-forth… I’m finished with you”? Aren’t you grateful that’s not who God is?

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #266 entitled “God IS Love.” 

In Psalm 25:7 David makes this incredible statement where he asks God to remember him according to His steadfast love. Just think about that phrase for a minute—steadfast love. That’s not the kind of love that comes and goes. That’s not emotional, inconsistent, or dependent on your performance. That’s steady, anchored, unchanging love.

So let me take you back to the question I asked in the opener—what if God wasn’t like that? What if His love had limits? What if there was a breaking point where He finally said, “That’s it… I’m done with you”? Man, I don’t know about you, but I’m really thankful that’s not who God is.

Scripture makes it clear in Exodus 34:6 that God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and overflowing—abounding—in steadfast love. That means His love doesn’t just exist… it overflows. There’s no shortage. It doesn’t run dry. And because of that, we’re actually commanded to thank Him for it—daily. But let’s be honest for a second… how often do we actually stop and do that? How often do we pause and say, “God, thank You for loving me the way You do”?

Now let’s make this really personal. How many times today have you sinned? Seriously… think about it. And every one of those sins—what do they deserve? Judgment. Consequences. Separation. But what did you receive instead? Mercy—you didn’t get what you deserved. Grace—you received what you didn’t deserve. And love—steady, unwavering, unchanging love. That should stop us in our tracks.

Because if we’re honest, we’ve spent a lot of time choosing “King Me” over God. We’ve turned our backs on Him to chase what we want—even when we know better. And that leaves us feeling guilty… and yeah, sometimes ashamed. Because deep down, we know we’ve traded His strength for our weakness… His truth for our desires… His way for our own.

And yet… God keeps loving you. He’s the one who has given you life. He’s the one sustaining you right now. The only reason you’re still here, still breathing, still able to even hear this… is because His steadfast love endures forever. And the clearest picture of that love is the cross. God didn’t wait for you to get your act together. He didn’t wait for you to clean yourself up. He loved you right in the middle of your mess—and proved it by sending His Son to die for you. That’s real love.

Over and over again throughout Scripture, God keeps repeating this truth—His love endures forever. Why? Because we forget. We start thinking His love depends on how we’re doing. We start believing that when we mess up, His love somehow pulls back. But that’s not how it works.

God’s love for you is steadfast. It doesn’t fluctuate. It doesn’t weaken. It doesn’t run out. It’s not based on your performance. It’s not tied to your behavior. It’s not dependent on how “godly” you’ve been this week. It’s rooted in who He is. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

And because of that, His love endures your failures. It endures your inconsistency. It endures your selfish moments. It endures your humanity. And it doesn’t just last for a little while—it lasts forever.

Even when everything around you feels unstable—even when life feels like it’s shifting under your feet—His love doesn’t move. Even when you fall short again… His love is still there. And not only that—God actually delights in showing you that kind of love.

His mercy doesn’t run out. It’s new every single morning. Every day you wake up, you’re not starting from zero—you’re stepping into fresh mercy.

So let me just ask you this… do you really believe that? Not just in your head—but in your heart? Because when that truth really sinks in, it changes everything about how you see God… and how you respond to Him.

Here’s the truth, my friend… it’s God’s steadfast love that you can trust no matter what. No matter your circumstances, no matter your choices, no matter how many times you mess it up. His love doesn’t waver.

And here’s the key—you’ve got to understand this—God doesn’t just show steadfast love… He is steadfast love. It’s not something He turns on or off. It’s not something He gives when you’re doing well and pulls back when you’re not. It’s part of His very nature. It’s who He is. That’s why His love for you is steady—because He is steady.

Throughout Scripture, you see people crying out to God based on that love. They appeal to His character. They call out for mercy, for forgiveness, for rescue—not because they deserve it, but because they know who God is. They know He is compassionate, gracious, and full of steadfast love. And because of that, they run to Him, not away from Him.

And that’s where this becomes personal for you. The prophet Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 63:7) “I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness ... that he has granted ... according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

This is why you can cry, (Psalm 6:4) “Turn, O Lord, deliver my life; save me for the sake of your steadfast love.” “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1) “Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy turn to me. Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress; make haste to answer me. Draw near to my soul, redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies!” (Psalm 69:16-18)

When you understand that God’s love is rooted in who He is, not in how you’re doing, it changes how you respond to Him. Instead of hiding in shame, you run to Him for mercy. Instead of trying to fix yourself first, you come to Him broken and honest. Instead of giving up, you cry out for help.

And what happens when you really start to grasp that kind of love? Worship. Gratitude. A heart that says, “Your love is better than life itself.”(Psalm 64:3) You begin to bless Him, to praise Him, to lift your hands—not out of obligation, but because your soul is satisfied in Him.

Now let’s shift just a little bit and talk about something closely connected to this—God’s goodness. We often talk about the goodness of God. You’ve probably said it yourself—something good happens, and we respond, “Man, God is so good.” Someone avoids an accident, or receives an unexpected blessing, and we point to God’s goodness.

And that’s true—God is good. But here’s where we need to go a little deeper. God isn’t good because of what He does. He does good things because of who He is. That’s a big difference.

Jesus makes it clear in Mark 10:18 that only God is truly good. And in Psalm 34:8 Scripture exclaims, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!” God’s goodness is part of His nature. It’s not situational. It’s not dependent on outcomes. He cannot not be good. If He ever stopped being good, He would stop being God. And yet, if we’re honest, we take that for granted. We don’t fully understand His goodness, so we don’t fully appreciate it.

Let me take you back to a question I asked earlier—how many times have you sinned today? This week? This year? Over your lifetime? And how many times have you deserved judgment? Now flip that—how many times has God responded with grace instead? With mercy? With forgiveness? With patience? With steadfast love? That’s His goodness on display.

That’s why Scripture calls us to come before Him with thanksgiving and praise—to recognize His goodness and His love that never runs out. Psalm 100:4-5 says “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” 

And here’s something you need to hold onto, especially if you’re in the middle of a battle right now—even in your struggle, God has been good to you. Even when you’ve turned your back on Him… He’s been good. Even when you’ve chosen “King Me”… He’s been good. Even when your trust has been shaky… He’s been good. And not only that—He’s still leading you. He’s still instructing you. He’s still showing you the way forward.

That’s who He is. He is good. He is forgiving. He is full of steadfast love for those who call out to Him. Now, we do need to understand something here—God’s definition of “good” is bigger than ours. When we think of good, we often think of comfort, ease, or things going our way. But God’s goodness includes what is right, what is holy, what is perfect—even when it’s hard.

So His goodness isn’t always comfortable… but it is always right. And because of that, His goodness is something to be desired more than anything else. It’s something He pours out on those who trust Him, those who take refuge in Him.

So even right now, wherever you are in your walk—even in the middle of your struggle—you can cry out to Him. You can ask Him to answer you. To show you mercy. To turn toward you in love. Because that’s who He is. And He will.

If today’s study connected with you and you’re ready to take a real step forward, head over to ThePurityCoach.com—there are plenty of resources there to help you keep growing.

But let me close out this week’s episode with this really simple and direct statement. If “King Me” is still sitting on the throne of your heart—and if you’re tired of the cycle, tired of the struggle, tired of doing what you don’t want to do—then it’s time to do something about it. 

Jesus said we’re to deny ourselves daily and follow Him. That’s where change begins. That’s exactly what my book, Removing the “I” from L.I.F.E. – The Dethroning of King Me, is all about. It walks you through the real struggle—why you keep falling, why it feels like you’re stuck—and shows you, straight from Scripture, how to actually live surrendered to God. Because here’s the truth—whoever sits on the throne of your heart is calling the shots in your life.

So here’s your next step: go to Amazon.com, search Removing the “I” from L.I.F.E. – The Dethroning of King Me or just type in my name, Steve Etner, and grab your copy today. Don’t just listen—take action. So I’ll leave you with this: Who’s on the throne of your heart right now?

Well, if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes! So, until next time this is Steve Etner – author, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry – reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.