God’s Abounding Love and Faithfulness
Psalm 86:15 (NIV)
“…You, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” – Psalm 86:15 (NIV)
David’s description of God in Psalm 86:15 is related to Jonah’s in the book of Jonah 4:2: “…I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.” It is fascinating that two Old Testament characters, born in different eras, describe God in the same manner.
There was so much warfare in the Old Testament, in addition to the Israelites constantly being led astray to worship idols and engage in immoral religious ceremonies. God, however, continued to deliver His people from the influence of paganism, even allowing them to defeat nations in battle. But note that God does not like violence. Genesis 6:13 (NIV) records, “…I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence….” If David and Jonah understood that God was compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love, how much more should we not grasp it? Moreso, since we have the opportunity of reading the Gospels, where we see Jesus, the exact representation of God’s being (Hebrew 1:3). He is compassionate.
Grace is at the centre of what we believe as followers of Jesus, and I am sure we will gladly take as much as possible! We were all born into sin. We all feel relieved when grace and mercy are extended to us or even the people we love. But can we say the same for what we consider to be wrongdoing against us? We tend to want to see those individuals get their “justice.”
We may not want to admit to ourselves or even God, but we may very well have double standards. We do this by rejoicing at the grace we have received, whether from God or other people, but may question when other people receive that same grace, thinking they don’t deserve it. The thing is, it is not a bad thing to desire justice. However, refusing to accept God’s mercy extended to others, even after we have experienced His mercy ourselves, will damage and hurt our souls and us.
Take some time today and ponder this desire to seek justice instead of mercy. Explore Jonah’s mercy experience and ask: Where, in particular, are we hoping for God to be gracious and slow to anger with us? When do we want God to react differently or more justly toward others?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we are grateful for Your love and faithfulness. We thank You for Your grace extended to us and others. Though it may feel uncomfortable to examine our hearts toward others, we humbly ask You to help us confront those attitudes with honesty and courage. Teach us to love people with a Christ-like heart, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Read: Genesis 6:11; Romans 5:8
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 25:1-7; Mark 6:30-56; Exodus 31; Exodus 32; Exodus 33:1-6
