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| Photo by Lucille Zimmerman |
Are You Hesed?
ByLucille Zimmerman
There
is a Hebrew word that appears 250 times in the Old Testament.
The
word is hesed.
Hesed
is translated by King James in 14 different ways (goodness, kindness, devotion,
devout, faithfulness, good, kindly, loveliness, loving-kindness, loyal deeds, loyalty,
mercies, righteousness, unchanging love).
Some
people say the word is untranslatable.
In
essence, Hesed is the unfailing, consistent,
ever-faithful, relentless, constantly-pursuing, lavish, extravagant,
unrestrained, furious love of our Father God. Hesed means love as God loves. It’s His promise to His people. It is grace extended when it was not deserved. It is
based on God, not you.
What
I find most fascinating about the word hesed (spelled
“chesed”) is that linguistically it is linked to the Hebrew word for “stork.” The word for "stork" in Hebrew is "chasidah.”
The "chasidah" means the "pious, faithful, or kindly bird"
because of its loving-kindness and devotion to its young. The stork was considered
to be the best mother of all the animals.
Do you know there is a love that follows you and will not let you go? Like a loving mamma stork caring for her young, God cares for you.
“Surely goodness and mercy (hesed) shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”-Psalm 23:6
Lucille Zimmerman is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a
private practice in Littleton, CO and an affiliate faculty professor at
Colorado Christian University.
She is also the
author of Renewed: Finding Your Inner Happy in an Overwhelmed World. Through practical ideas and relatable
anecdotes, readers can better understand their strengths and their passions—and
address some of the underlying struggles or hurts that make them want to keep
busy or minister to others to the detriment of themselves. Renewed can help
nurture those areas of women’s lives to use them better for work, family, and
service. It gives readers permission to examine where they spend their energy
and time, and learn to set limits and listen to “that inner voice."
Lucille, that was such a blessing! Thank you! I hope the picture in my mind never goes away!
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