Daily Devotionals

What I’m about to share with you, more than any single revelation, has changed my life. It has changed the way I read the New Testament. It has settled every question I have ever had-or could have-about prosperity, healing and every other blessing of God.

The revelation I’m referring to is as big as eternity, yet it can be summed up in one small, Hebrew word-hesed. That word may mean nothing to you right now, but once you gain insight into it, your spirit will take off like a bird out of a cage.

What truth could be that powerful? Read it for yourself: “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant” (Hosea 6:6-7).

The word mercy in that verse is actually the Hebrew word hesed (spelled chesed, pronounced kheh’-sed). It is translated in the Old Testament as “mercy, kindness, tender mercies, lovingkindness and fidelity.” Its counterpart in the Greek language is agape. Although agape was in the Greek language in Jesus’ day, until He used it, most people didn’t know what it meant. It was not heard on the streets.

People still don’t know what it means. You talk to most of them about unconditional love or real mercy, and they just bat their eyes at you like a frog in a hailstorm. Yet, without that understanding, we can’t even begin to grasp the nature of our relationship with God.

If you doubt it, take some time and read all of Psalm 136. Hesed is mentioned in all 26 verses. Obviously the psalmist was driving home a point. He was telling us that the compelling force behind all of God’s actions was hesed. More than just a quality He possesses, hesed is God’s very nature. The New Testament puts it this way: “God is agape” (1 John 4:16).

In the natural realm, hesed can be compared to that tender, yet fiercely protective love a mother has when she holds her baby in her arms and her heart goes out to it. It’s the love that causes her to say, “I’ll nurse you, little one. I’ll care for you. I’ll teach you all that I know. I’ll see to it that no one harms you.”

That is a picture of hesed. It’s a picture of God Almighty saying to you, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you.” No matter how you feel today, you are loved. Your feelings may tell you otherwise, but your heavenly Father has loved you with His hesed from the beginning of your life. He loves you unconditionally, just the way you are, every day of your life. He never changes…He never leaves nor forsakes you. Receive His embrace today. Receive His love.

Leviticus 4-5; Luke 7 – I give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His love and mercy endure forever.

Psalm 136:1