I’m sitting on the couch in the apartment my new husband and I share as I write this. On the top shelf of the built-ins in our living room is a piece of driftwood. While living as a missionary in the Dominican Republic, you might say one of my COVID-19 hobbies became painting driftwood. Interesting specimens litter any beach, and it was a simple, inexpensive hobby that fostered community while yielding practical pieces I could display around my home.One of my personal favorites was a chunk of tree stump with a flat, semicircular face begging for Lamentations 3:22–23 and a sunburst. When I shared photos on social media, a friend (and biblical languages professor!) asked if I was going to attempt Hebrew script next. Challenge accepted! The result: a jagged-edged, blue-tinged memento that I deemed worthy of making an international move. Flanked by olive branch-esque adornments is a word (which I ran by said professor for an intelligibility check) that’s been on this newlywed’s mind a lot as of late: hesed (loosely translated as “steadfast love”).
In the welcome at the beginning of her latest book, Everlasting: Peaks, Valleys, and Grace in the Psalms, Christina Hergenrader writes, “Kingdoms crumble, pain paralyzes us, joy inspires us, everything we think we know changes—except God’s everlasting love for us” (p. 8).
In the past six months, I’ve moved internationally, gotten married, and filled out a placement application for my husband’s first call out of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Talk about things changing! Indeed, life is topsy-turvy. In my former role overseeing the Latin America and the Caribbean region’s short-term volunteer program, mission teams would frequently debrief their days using the “highs and lows” framework: a favorite moment or God-sighting, balanced by a frustration or struggle. Perhaps even more aligned with Everlasting’s threefold subtitle, though, is a similar device: “highs, lows, and buffaloes!” I know I have random moments of needing a little extra grace most days.
Yet through it all, God’s hesed is present. In Everlasting, Hergenrader guides readers through the Psalms by categorizing them into five types: Thanksgiving, Wisdom, Lament, Praise, and Messianic. You guessed it: There’s at least one in each category that uses our new vocab word.
Psalm 23 is a psalm of thanks. David is grateful for His Shepherd’s TLC and the future He promises. Verse 6 ends his soliloquy with this: “Surely goodness and mercy [hesed] shall follow me all the days of my life.” I could think of a few things to be thankful for these days. Weddings don’t plan themselves, and I used new pots and pans, plates, and potholders just to make dinner earlier. My greatest blessing, though, is that all things material will be rendered inconsequential as I bask in my Savior’s presence eternally.
Psalm 40 speaks of wisdom. The psalmist touts the judiciousness of placing one’s trust in God and encouraging those around him to do likewise. He boasts, “I have not concealed Your steadfast love [hesed] and Your faithfulness from the great congregation” (v. 10). My husband’s and my wedding ceremony was a lot of things, but if there’s one thing we prioritized, it was Christ-centeredness. We wanted our “great congregation” of 123 guests to see the Savior’s faithfulness and salvation, loving kindness and truth reflected.
Psalm 51 echoes David’s lament over his adultery with Bathsheba. He pleads, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love [hesed]” (v. 1). Even in this honeymoon phase, I can’t even count the number of times I’ve already wronged my spouse. Thanks be to God that because He has indeed had mercy on us, we can be merciful toward each other, forgiving abundantly.
Psalm 13 sings out praise: “But I have trusted in Your steadfast love [hesed]; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” (v. 5). One of my previous blog posts was about Proverbs 3:5–6 and my struggle to trust God’s mercy. My husband’s blind faith, especially as we approach the call process, is one of the things I most admire about him. According to him, you can’t be disappointed if you have zero expectations.
And finally, the Messianic nature of Psalm 94 points to Jesus. Hergenrader reminds readers in her introduction to section 5 that this psalm highlights God’s perfect timing (p. 170). Take verse 18: “When I thought, ‘My foot slips,’ Your steadfast love [hesed], O LORD, held me up.” I never thought I’d get married, but God, in His wisdom, brought a southern boy from Georgia all the way to the Dominican Republic.
A new item now sits next to my hesed driftwood art: the champagne bottle from our wedding reception. With it, we toasted love. We raised our glasses to the love God knit between us as husband and wife, and it is a beautiful thing, but only because “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Our love is ‘til death do us part; God, who is love, in His great love sent Jesus so that we might never part from His presence, even in death.
Scripture: ESV©.