Devotions

The Bible promises that it is possible to understand the Lord's lovingkindness. What is that key? King David said, “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the lovingkindness of the Lord” (Psalm 107:43).

David received an awesome revelation of God's gracious, forgiving heart. And he discovered it simply by looking at God's past record of dealing with his beloved children. David reports it this way:

"Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses. And He led them forth by the right way. . . . Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:5–8).

When the children of Israel wandered away from the Lord, they became hungry, thirsty and lost because of sin. But then they cried out to the Lord and what happened? "He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness” (107:9).

Yet again they rebelled and backslid, falling even lower. Again we read: "Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble . . . He sent His word and healed them" (107:19-20).

Finally, God's people again came to their wits' end. A storm raged and their souls melted with trouble: "Then they cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distresses. He calms the storm, so that its waves are still" (107:28-29).

David responded to this revelation, "Look how easily God's heart is moved. Oh, how quickly he responds to the cries of his children. There is no end to his mercies."

Beloved, you don't have to continue in agony and guilt. Instead, go to the Lord, cry out and confess to him. He is a tender Father who is touched by your every cry.

The foundation for all victory over sin is the understanding that God is tender and full of kindness and love.

“Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth’” (Jeremiah 9:23–24).

If you have walked with the Lord for any length of time, you probably have encouraged others that God is gracious and forgiving. Now, let me ask you: When you fail the Lord, is it suddenly a different matter? Do you find yourself working through terrible feelings of guilt and shame?

You may say, "Shouldn't we experience that when we sin?" Indeed, those feelings are the natural result of sin. But as children of God we are not supposed to continue for days and weeks thinking that our Father is mad at us. Because of Christ's provision on the cross, all guilt and condemnation may be lifted quickly.

Still, even after we've repented, we may feel we have to make up our failures to the Lord. Like the Prodigal Son, we can have the Father hugging us, putting a ring on our finger and a robe on our back. He tells us to forget the past and enjoy the feast he has prepared for us.

But inside we protest, "I’m not worthy! I've sinned against the Lord. I've got to show him I'm sorry."

Many Christians find it easy to believe that God forgave Israel's gross sins. We have no trouble accepting that he forgave Nineveh in the Old Testament and the dying thief in the New Testament. But, oddly, it's hard for us to grasp that the moment we turn to him in repentance he quickly and lovingly accepts us as if we had never sinned.

In the Old Testament, God's people forsook him again and again, yet each time he restored them and blessed them incredibly. The Lord had every right to give up on Israel, but he remained ever faithful to them. Nehemiah sums up this wonderful truth about God’s nature:

"After they had rest, they again did evil before You. . . . Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; and many times You delivered them according to Your mercies. . . . Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; for You are God, gracious and merciful" (Nehemiah 9:28, 31).

The prophet Isaiah knew this aspect of God's nature. Like Moses before him, Isaiah preached about God's judgment against sin. He spoke of dark days of despair to come upon those living in continual rebellion. Yet amid one of his most direct messages, Isaiah stopped to make this statement:

 ^“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses” (Isaiah 63:7).

Everywhere Isaiah turned he saw backsliding and apostasy in Israel. Yet, despite this, Isaiah looked into his heart and recalled a revelation of what God was truly like. And he began praising God for his faithfulness: "Oh, Lord, we have rebelled against you and turned from your Holy Spirit. Save us again by your great mercy. Stir up your compassion toward us. You are full of lovingkindness."

Later the prophet Joel gave dire warnings, but even as he prophesied about massive earthquakes and the darkening of the sun and moon, he suddenly began speaking of God’s loving nature:

“Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13).

Beloved, there are times when we need to remember this revelation of the Lord’s mercy for ourselves. 

Throughout the Bible we hear these wonderful words spoken by many of God's servants: "Your God is merciful, kind, gracious, anxious to forgive, full of lovingkindness, slow to anger." These words about God's lovingkindness are recited again and again by great men such as Moses, Jonah, David, the prophets and the apostle Paul (see Exodus 34:6, Deuteronomy 4:31, Jonah 4:2, Joel 2:13, Romans 2:4).

Some Christians may be surprised to know that Moses spoke of God's lovingkindness. After all, Moses was known as the Lawgiver, delivering stern admonitions about obedience to God's Law. He warned the people that if they refused to walk in righteousness they would be judged.

Yet Moses also had this great revelation about the Lord's lovingkindness. How did he learn of this aspect of God's nature? The Lord revealed it to him in the cloud of His presence:

"The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin’" (Exodus 34:5–7, my italics).

Even as Moses preached warnings about judgment, he always remembered this important aspect of God's character. Indeed, Moses urged the people, "When you are in distress, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, when you turn to the Lord your God and obey His voice (for the Lord your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them" (Deuteronomy 4:30–31).

Here is what the Lord is essentially saying about His interactions with us in our failure: "Take a look at my record of dealing with my children. They have failed me time after time. But then they cried; they reached out to me. And my heart is touched by the tears of all my children. I am moved with compassion when they return to me. That is my nature. I am touched by the feeling of their infirmities."

“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

Isn’t that interesting? We want to give our life to the Gospel and to the mission field but unless we mature and grow and feed our own heart and soul, then taking a city is going to be just that — taking a city. And there will be a city full of miserable, frustrated, discouraged, depressed people.

Taking a city for the kingdom of God actually means having a heart so full of the joy of the Lord that we are moved to the next direction. So this means we must tend our own heart, watch and manage “our own city.”

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).

Do you see what it says here? All the things of life flow from the heart. Most of us as believers strive to get these things but they have already been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Peter says that Jesus “has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3).

We teach that the New Covenant of the cross of Jesus Christ is a finished work. All the peace and joy he is ever going to give you has already been given to you. 

When you’re in pain and feel depressed and discouraged, you say that you don’t want to feel these things. But when you shut down the bad parts of your heart, the painful parts, you also shut down the good parts.

So keep your heart open and ask the Holy Spirit to help you deal with the pain in your life. Don’t run from it. Don’t hide from it. Tend your own vineyard — deal with the issues. But remember, all this takes time, so don’t become impatient as you allow the Holy Spirit to do his work.