This week, our Fuel band played one of my absolute favorite modern praise songs - How He Loves by John Mark McMillian.

Love's like a hurricane,

I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of

His wind and mercy

When I first heard this song I was confused. I think of a hurricane as a destructive force. How is God's love for us like a hurricane? In the song, we stand as trees, beaten down by the force of the storm. This conjures up the image of a palm tree being bent over and whipped down by the strength of the

storm. A tree in a hurricane is completely helpless. In the same way we are completely helpless. Our attempts to stand independent only separate us from

our Father. When we try to stand strong on our own we always fall to pride or jealousy or lust. Even the great things that we accomplish can turn us away from God. How many mistakes have you made in your life? Can you think of a time when you chose to write your own script rather than follow God's

script?

Despite our faults and mistakes, despite our bad choices and constant rejections, God is still there. His hand is still stretched out to us. That is how He loves. Our Father loves us so much that He defeats our misguided actions which separate us from Him. He strikes down our mistakes. He casts out our

failures. Oh, how He loves us so. We bend beneath the weight of his mercy. John Mark McMillian explains his inspirations for writing this song in a video: How He Loves: A Song Story. It only takes five minutes - watch it. And then, as you have quiet time in the following week, reflect on the overwhelming love that He has for us. It is a kind of love that flows despite our anger, our doubts, and our insecurity. It is a kind of love which overwhelms our mistakes and failures. It is a kind of love which embraces the lost and pours out grace on sinners.

Peace, 

Spencer