“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”
Psalm 103:8
David writes in the Old Testament about God’s compassion and grace. We like focusing on this
part of God’s nature. We often think of it as a New Testament idea, but our great God is the
same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is unchanging.
And this Old Testament passage is not a one-off/isolated find! “Compassionate and gracious” is found not only here, but in several other passages as well (Numbers 14:18, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 148:8, Joel 2:13, Jonah 4:2).
All these lead back to the very first occurrence recorded in Exodus 34:6 when God describes
Himself, revealing His character to Moses as “compassionate and gracious.”
Modern day, western-world believers are much more comfortable with a God of compassion
and grace than a God of anger and judgment. But even this Old Testament verse refers to the
anger of God (“…slow to anger…”).
He is God. His nature is both compassion and love AND justice and holiness. We cannot dissect and discard the parts that make us uncomfortable.
Our culture may suggest a God of anger and judgment is antiquated, harsh, or unacceptable.
But as women of God, we cannot – we must not – allow the culture to dictate how we
view the truth of Scripture. We must be the proverbial salmon swimming upstream against the
current, viewing the culture through the lens of Scripture.
Yes, my friend, we celebrate that He is a God of compassion and grace – but to fully embrace this element of His nature, we must also see ourselves as sinners who deserve His judgment.
Through the person of Jesus Christ, we receive His love and grace. We can rejoice that “He does not treat us as our sins deserve…” (Psalm 103:10)
Today, I ask you to take a moment to reflect who God’s nature. Revere Him. Praise Him. Thank Him. Think also on your own sin and allow the realization of who you are – and who you are not – prompt grateful praise that we serve a compassionate and gracious God! Hallelujah!
Editor’s Note: Laura originally developed our October bookmark to accompany the “Pearls of Grace” women’s retreat. If you are interested in having Laura present this teaching to your church, please reach out to us via email.
In our latest devotional video, Laura introduces the topic of our October bookmark: Pearls of Grace. We hope you’ll join us as we explore what the Bible says about our gracious Lord.
If you’re not familiar with our Write the WORD series, it is a free, printable verse list that we offer monthly. Laura chooses one word from scripture and selects a verse for each day that contains that word. Our challenge to you is to set aside time to write out these verses daily … and see what the Holy Spirit reveals as you slow down and savor the Word!
Visit our Downloads page for your October bookmark (we include TWO on the page, so you can take one on the go or share with a friend!) and optional S.O.A.P. study pages.
