A Compassionate God

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Anxiety, Compassion, Depression, God, Grace, Kindness, Mercy, Trouble, Worry

“The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” (James 5:11, NIV)

How badly we need these words.

God is compassionate.  God has mercy on those who cry out to Him.

Do you know this?  Do you believe it?  God is full of compassion and mercy.  When your spirits are low and your heart is afraid, when you suffer and struggle, run to Him.  He does not turn away the hurting, or reject those who cry out to Him.

Seek the Lord when you are in need.  His depths of compassion are unfathomable, His breadth of mercy immeasurable.  God is kind and gentle.  God is love.

May God be your comfort and peace in every trouble.

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Quieted by His Love

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Grace, Love, Mercy, Zephaniah

The prophets speak an interplay of judgment and mercy, sometimes moving from one to the other with startling suddenness.  In Zephaniah severe warning comes, for both Judah and her enemies.  But in the end the Lord gives His people a promise of grace in some of the warmest terms in Scripture.

“The LORD has taken away your punishment,” He says to Jerusalem (3:15).  What shall they expect of God now?  I think we expect that after punishment is done we’re in a stigmatized probationary status, or at best we’re on neutral footing.

The grace of God is extravagant.

Instead of shame His people are given security and the blessing of His presence and reign.  Far from neutral footing, neither favored nor unfavored by God, here is the image of His restoration:

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

How often do we reckon with that richness of grace?  These words are spoken to Jerusalem, but the promise may be fairly apprehended by the people of God as His words of love for those He redeems.  When God reconciles a people with Himself they become the objects of His delight.  A prayer: that our restless souls would come to Him with every fear and care, and learn what it means to be quieted by His love.

Glorious

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Creation, Glory, God, Humanity, Mercy, Power

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

So begins–and ends–the 8th Psalm.  Bookmarked by this exultation, David marvels a the greatness of God’s creation; and especially how, in light of this greatness, God has given such honor to human beings, who are nothing next to Him.

We’re inclined to make our achievements a source of pride.  Mastery over the created environment perhaps more typically makes humans see ourselves as large.  But the psalmist finds humility even in rulership.  Seeing that God has given people headship over the created world directs David’s thoughts not to the greatness of humans–glorious among creatures–but of God, our incomparable Creator.

He is glorious.  What a wonder is this created cosmos we live in, how exquisitely crafted from the tiniest of molecular details to the spreading vastness of galaxies.  And He is gracious from the very first, giving His human creatures headship over the world He made, despite our smallness.

The intertwined excellences of God’s power and grace that are showcased in the drama of redemption display themselves even in creation.  This is the might and character of the Holy One.

Glorious.