This study guide was written by Keswick Ministries. Keswick Ministries is committed to the spiritual renewal of God’s people for his mission in the world. All of the people of God are called to participate in his missionary purposes, wherever he may place them. The central vision of Keswick Ministries is to see the people of God equipped, encouraged and refreshed to fulfil that calling, directed and guided by God’s Word in the power of his Spirit, for the glory of his Son. We hope you are blessed by this series.

Getting Started

‘If God loved me, he would . . . ’ Fill in the blank.
Sometimes we wish for a God who is like a genie in a bottle – a God
who demonstrates his love by doing our bidding. But giving us what we
want, when it might not be best for us, is not love.
Neither is real love dependent on our performance. At one wedding
I attended, the couple changed their marriage vows from ‘as long as we
both shall live’ to ‘as long as we both shall love’! In stark contrast, the cross
stands for ever as a stake in the ground pointing to true love. It reveals a
God who knows us intimately but loves us anyway. He sees the worst of
us – the parts of ourselves we hide from others, our secret and habitual
sins, our fears and disappointments – and yet he loves us relentlessly.
Calvary love is tender for the broken-hearted but not sentimental.
It is a tough love that allows difficulties into our lives so that we lean more
on God and become increasingly like his Son. It is a love that has as its
goal God’s glory alone. This love is trustworthy, dependable and certainly
worth giving thanks for.

From the Bible – Psalm 107: 1-22

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story –
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe, 3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle. 5 They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. 6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. 8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.
10 Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labour;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help. 13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind, 16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities. 18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave. 21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 22 Let them sacrifice thank-offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.

Study Questions

• How has God already shown his love to you today?
• ‘Give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love’ is repeated
  throughout the Psalm. How had God demonstrated love to his
  people?
• Which kind of people did God show his love to?
• According to verses 2 and 22, and the refrain in verses 8, 15 and 21,
  what do people do when they experience God’s love?
• If we are truly grateful for God’s love, what difference will it make?
  Look at John 15:9–17.
• What do you think is surprising about God’s love? Read Psalm
  139:1–6.
• Scan John 11:1–7, 21–44. How does this story help you to respond
  to someone who says, ‘If God loved me, he would answer my
  prayers’?
• How does this story help you to respond to someone who says,
  ‘God does not really care about the things that break my heart’?

Personal Application

• What difference does it make to know that you are loved by
  someone who really knows you?
• How does being grateful to God for his love for you have an
  impact on
  (a) how you speak to unbelievers
  (b) how you treat other Christians
  (c) how you feel about Christian service and ministry?

God’s love is his doing everything it takes, even the death of his Son, in order to so work in you that you would stop feeling loved by being made much of, and start feeling loved by the enjoyment of making much of him forever in all that you do.

(John Piper, www.desiringgod.org/messages/thankful-for-the-love-of-god)

Prayer Time

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind. 22 Let them sacrifice thank-offerings and tell of his works with songs of joy.
(Psalm 107:21–22)

Spend time thanking God for his unwavering, unstinting, incomparable
love.

Pray through your answers to question 10. Pray that gratitude for God’s
love would encourage you to:
• share the gospel with unbelieving family members and friends
• show forgiveness and compassion to Christian brothers and sisters
• renew your passion for serving God where he has placed you.