August 31: Lord of compassion

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and rich in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our offenses.    (Psalm 103:8-10 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)


This passage should be a tremendous encouragement. It’s a brief description of how God interacts with us. He’s a God of compassion that wants to bless us, a God that is rich in love. Obviously, Satan would love for us to believe the total opposite, that God is our enemy, that He demands perfection, that He’s rigid and judgmental. But if you take the time to read about Jesus’ life in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, His compassion and love for all sorts of people will be one thing that jumps out at you. He forgave and helped tax collectors (thieves), prostitutes, Gentiles (unbelievers), even Pharisees (hypocrites) when they let Him… anyone who came to Him asking for help. In fact, throughout the Bible you can see that God frequently worked with sinners, failures, rejects, and unbelievers and turned them into the great heroes of faith that we read about today.

In general, people are ignorant about God’s true nature and their lives reflect that ignorance. So many have a hard time rising above it. Many view God as cruel and unforgiving — looking for an excuse to punish and place heavy burdens on people. Others think of God as distant and unapproachable — unconcerned with people or their problems. “He’s too busy with whatever He’s doing to help us,” they say. Other people view God as an elderly, doting grandfather. “Everyone ends up in heaven eventually. There’s no need to be overly careful about the way we live, no one’s going to be punished,” they believe. But the truth is that God is both Almighty and Holy, and will certainly judge men for their sins. And yet, as the passage states, He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve! Though He demands respect and obedience, He’s also forgiving and understanding when we are not perfect but have tried our best and acted in faith. The greatest desire of God’s heart is to be close to and bless us.

When we surrender to Him and consider His will more important than our own, this passage will become a personal reality.