The Hebrew word Hesed appears some 250 times in the Old Testament and doesn't have a direct translation into English, as can be seen by the fact that there are 10 or 11 different translations of the word, the most common of which are mercy, kindness, loving kindness, or steadfast love. Hesed describes our Heavenly Father's feelings and attitude toward us and the actions that He takes on our behalf. The Lord's love and kindness and mercy are not something that we deserve or expect, or, when we are being particularly pigheaded, what we would even accept or embrace, but He gives it to us all the same. In order for God's Plan for His children to work, He needs us to make the choice to come unto and trust in and rely upon Him and His strength and His wisdom and His mercy. The Hesed, or the mercy and loving kindness, that He shows us is first and foremost because He loves us and wants what's best for us, but also to make it easier for us to willingly surrender our hearts and our minds and our souls to Him so that He can lead and guide us. Our Heavenly Father's Hesed for us creates this preponderance of evidence that no matter how good or bad we've been, no matter how sore and hard to bear our trials have been, He is waiting there with open arms to catch us the moment we start to fall and to scoop us up from the bottom of the pit and to carry us in His arms until we have enough strength to get back up on our own two feet again. It is impossible to deny the reality of our pain and suffering but if our eyes and our minds and our hearts are truly open, then we will see that it is equally impossible to deny the Lord's Hesed for us. He loves us more than we can comprehend, is more merciful than we deserve, more kind than we could have imagined.
