What Is Devotion? And Is God Devoted To Me?
Is God Devoted To Me?
Since accepting God’s call to ministry in 2002 I have lived devoted to God. That doesn’t necessarily mean I did it perfectly, because I know I haven’t. However, I have loved and lived for Him with my whole heart however imperfectly I walked in my faith. A couple of years ago, as I prayed and told God how devoted I was to Him, He whispered these words of revelation to me, “I am devoted to you.”
While God devoted to me wasn’t my common way of thinking about devotion related to God, I thought through the multitude of His mercies. My mind retraced the long list of times when God’s faithfulness came through for me. I also recognized the abundant life and blessings God had gifted me since first saying, “Yes” to Jesus. His mercies, faithfulness, abundant life, and blessings all revealed His deep devotion to me.
Let’s define devotion. According to the American College Dictionary devotion is ardent, often selfless affection and dedication. Google says devotion is love, loyalty, or enthusiasm for a person, activity, or cause.
We often think about being devoted to God, but give little attention to the fact that God is devoted to us. Possibly one reason we don’t think much about God being devoted to us is because the Bible doesn’t use the words, devote, devoted, or devotion in that way. Every time I see a form of the word devote used in Scripture, it points to a person devoted to God, a person called to devotion to God, or occasionally someone devoted to a service to God. But the actual term linked with God being devoted to us doesn’t show up in Scripture.
However, God’s Devotion To Us Is There Nonetheless.
First, we must see that God makes covenant and keeps covenant with us. He made the first covenant with Noah. (Genesis 6:18; 9:9-17) The second covenant, He made with Abraham and Abraham’s seed (Genesis 17:2-21) Exodus 19:5 recorded the Mosaic covenant, and 2 Samuel 7, God’s covenant with David. But the better covenant established on better promises according to Hebrews 8:6 was made with those who put their faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
What does God making covenant with us have to do with His devotion to us? Everything! Covenants are binding contractual agreements and only God can truly make covenants because only He can truly keep them. God is a covenant keeper. God’s word is His covenant. He does what he says he will do. His word comes to pass every single time forever and always.
He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations.
Psalm 105:8
Another element of His covenant are His promises to His people. He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus’ final promise to His disciples was ,“I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” In Romans 8:34-39 God’s word promises that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God. Over and over again, God’s covenant expresses His devotion to us. We also see the demonstration of His devotion in John 3:16 and Romans 5:8.
God’s Devotion Demonstrated
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
If we look back at the definition of devotion, God’s demonstration of His love for us in the two verses above express ardent, selfless, affection and dedication, i.e. devotion.
David Understood God’s Devotion
I can’t help but think about Psalm 139 when David said that God knew the details of his every movement, thought, and that He understood the intentions of his heart. David talked about God’s protection and nearness to him in every possible place He could ever be and at any time in his life. He recognized God’s devotion from the moment of his own conception in his mother’s womb to the final moment of his earthly life. And probably one of my favorite verses about God’s devotion is Psalm 139:17-18.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
If I should count them they would be more than the sand.
Psalm 139:17-18
God’s devotion is to such a degree that His thoughts are consumed with us. What a beautiful picture. if I believe that God thinks of me to that degree, I know that my level of devotion to God is, at its best, lacking. The truth is God’s devotion to us is abundantly more than our devotion to Him will ever be.
But even in that we see His devotion, His ardent selfless affection and dedication to love us with an everlasting love, a love that nothing and no one can separate us from. God’s devotion is based on a supernatural, covenantal love that exceeds all human commitments and gives us a depth of security not found in human relationships.
Take Time To Celebrate God’s Devotion To You
This week let God’s devotion to you be at the forefront of your mind. Embrace it and bask in it. Rejoice and live thankful for the unwavering devotion our God has for us. If you have a hard time wrapping your heart and mind around God’s devotion for you, maybe you should go back and read my blog post, The Value Question: Do I Really Matter.
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Much Love and Blessings!
Pat Domangue
