John Piper drew from Daniel to encourage us toward biblical productivity in a post on the DGM blog yesterday. I appreciated this encouragement to press on in God's work despite the sorrow and pain around us, and was surprised at the foundation Piper pointed to for the productivity: God's great love for us ("you are greatly loved" Dan 9:23). In my work, faced all the time with horrific pain and sorrow. I often take solace in God's wisdom to get out of bed, stay focused and productive. But I hadn't previously meditated on love, per se, as a source for strength and perseverance when news is bad. In fact, as I examined myself, I discovered that God's great love for me is not a truth that touches me very often. I feel much more in touch with others of his attributes and other parts of his goodness toward me. So this was a helpful call to awaken to this love and derive comfort, strength, and good works from it.

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