Today’s Devotional: “Loyalty to God”

“You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.” (Deuteronomy 6:13)

Seeing what God has done and how He has kept His promises should lead us to fear Him.

To “fear” means to show respect and reverence for God. It is to stand in awe and amazement and to worship Him for who He is and for what He has done.

But our loyalty not only stems from our fear or reverence for God; it also comes from remembering that it is the Lord who remembers us.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely, they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” (Isaiah 49:15)

The Lord was telling those in exile, who thought God had forgotten them, that He would never forget them. He does so by likening it to a mother’s love, a love that soothes in times of suffering, surrenders all, is always there, and follows us throughout life.

Therefore, even though a mother or a father can forsake their children, God never will, because God never gives up and never lets go of His love for us.

The prophet Jeremiah said, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.’” (Jeremiah 31:3a)

This everlasting love is indelible, meaning it can never be removed, as the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah. “See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands” (Isaiah 49:16a).

The Lord Jesus has indelibly engraved our names on His hands, hands of power, hands of authority, but most importantly, hands of love.

On the day of His resurrection, Jesus appeared and showed the disciples His hands, and in essence said, “See, here is where I have inscribed you, and here is where it says how much I love you.”

Given this, can we be anything but loyal and worship Him?