I learned today that the word “lovingkindness” is translated from the Hebrew word “hesed,” which is used often in the Old Testament to signify God’s covenant, steadfast love for me. In the Psalms (and this is true in Psalm 92) hesed is associated with the call to worship. I see that my morning and evening times of reflective thankfulness are all about worshipping the One who loves me, not just with a love like I love, but with a deep unfailing love.

Hesed is the unmerited and generous favor of God. Hesed love is gentle and always reaches out to the object of that love—which means me. Old Testament scholar Daniel Block describes hesed as “that quality that moves a person to act for the benefit of another without respect to the advantage that it might bring to the one who expresses it.… [T]his quality is expressed fundamentally in action rather than word or emotion.”4

Father, thank You for leading me to learn about thanking You and Your precious lovingkindness to me. I see clearly that what I’m learning isn’t just to encourage me; it’s also meant to teach me how to love my husband. I’m to do things that are best for Jody—not for me. To love him with my actions, not just my words.

Oh, I am excited about what I learned today! Psalm 59:10 says that God in His lovingkindness will meet me. I see my Father coming to sit with me and share a cup of tea. How precious that He meets me in His lovingkindness. I feel embraced by His love. I’ve been walking around all day thanking the Holy One for personally meeting with me in His unfailing love. — Linda Dillow, What’s It like to Be Married to Me? (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2011).

I have just completed a seven-part Bible Study called Ancient Words. It explores seven key Hebrew words we need to understand in order to really understand the gospel. This article is an excerpt from this Bible study. The Bible Study is available on Amazon. It is also avail as well as part of my Good Questions Have Groups Talking subscription service.

This service is like Netflix for Bible Lessons. You pay a low monthly, quarterly or annual fee and get access to all the lessons. New lessons that correspond with three of Lifeway’s outlines are automatically included, as well as a backlog of thousands of lessons. Each lesson consists of 20 or so ready-to-use questions that get groups talking, as well as answers from well-known authors such as David Jeremiah, Charles Swindoll and Max Lucado. For more information, or to sign up, click here.

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