The One My Soul Loves
“Because your love is better than life, my lips shall praise you.”-Psalm 63:3
My church occasionally sings a song based on this verse that’s beautiful. I think it’s an original song, as I haven’t been able to find it on the internet. Anyway, the song’s chorus and bridge, respectively, go like this:
“Your love is better than life
My lips will lift You high
Your name, Lord be lifted high
In everything I do, Lord, I’m holding onto You.
And I will bless you Lord for all my days
My lips forever shout unending praise
Through highs and lows one thing I know is true
Your love for me as I hold fast to You.”
The song exalts the wonder of God’s love towards us. Today, I want to encourage you on why God’s love is truly better than life.
First, God’s love is an everlasting love, and draws us with lovingkindness, which is literally loyal love. Paul illustrates this in Ephesians 1:4 when he explains that God loved us even before the foundation of the world - and, by extension, our creation. Not only did God love us before He made the world; He also loves us after we die, because He is eternal (uncreated and everlasting) and unchanging. Romans 8:38 says that death will not separate us from the love of God. Isn’t that good newwho He is, and thus is unchangeable. 1 John 4:8 says that God is love. This is a statement about who God is, at His nature. God does not only love us, but is Himself love, and from this, He loves us.
Knowing that God is love reminds us that it will never change. God cannot cease being love, or otherwise He’d no longer be God. Even as our circumstances change, God never will, providing an anchor for the soul to hope in God (Hebrews 6:19).
Secondly, God’s love extends beyond love. In Jeremiah 31:3, God says that He has loved us s? When we get to heaven, we will live in God’s love forever. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says that these three remain - faith, hope, and love - but the greatest of these is love. No one has faith in or hope in what they see; in heaven, we will see Jesus and indeed be like Him (1 John 3:2). But God is love, and when we arrive at our true home, we will share in His love for eternity. As Song of Solomon 8:6 says, love is as strong as death. With the resurrection of Christ, God showed that His love for us was even greater (Romans 5:8).
Thirdly, God’s love is better than life because it carries us through this life. God is not a fickle God who loves conditionally (as we are wont to do); instead, He loves because that is who He is, and He is faithful. Lamentations 3:22-23 says that God’s steadfast love never ceases, and His mercies are new every morning. Indeed, Jeremiah (the likely author of the book), says, “great is your faithfulness.” Since we belong to the Lord, we can hope in Him (Lamentations 3:24). In 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Paul says that God is the “Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.” When you are going through a trial, whether you are hurt, lonely, or something else, know that God is El Roi, the God Who Sees you, and take hope in Him (Genesis 16:13; cf. Genesis 16).
Is it any wonder that David said he will praise the Lord? God’s love, when considered as we have just done, is the most beautiful thing in the universe! Today, spend some time praising God for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to us (Psalm 107:31)! Here are some songs to get you started:
“Sparrows,” by Cory Asbury
“Loyal,” by Lauren Daigle
“Redeemer,” by Nicole C. Mullen
“Jireh,” by Maverick City Music
“Promises,” by Maverick City Music
“How Deep the Father’s Love for us,” by Stuart Townend
“Run to the Father,” by Cody Carnes
“God Only Knows,” by for King and Country
“The Blessing,” by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, & Elevation Worship
“Lift You High,” by Housefires and Dante Bowe
“Gratitude,” by Brandon Lake
Discussion Questions
How does the fact that God is love impact your beliefs about Him?
How does it make you feel that God’s love extends beyond your life, into all eternity?
What is one thing you will do this week to remind you that God sees you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ozi Ojukwu is a girl wildly in love with Jesus. A recent graduate of Cedarville University, she is a Colson-Fellow-In Training, learning about the fundamentals of a Christian worldview and how it connects to all of public life. She recently completed an internship at the Borgen Project, a nonprofit that makes global poverty a focus of US foreign policy. A bookworm to the core, she loves reading both historical fiction and memoirs. Her favorite verse is Romans 1:16.