Psalm 86:15 says, "But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." The word compassionate refers to a love that moves us to action to meet another person's needs. For example in Mark 1:41, when a leper came to Jesus and begged Jesus to heal him, Jesus was moved with compassion and healed the leper by touching him and saying, "Be Clean!" The word gracious refers to giving someone what they do not deserve. Some Bible scholars define grace as a gift. For example, Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift (grace) of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We deserve to die because of our sins, but since we believe in Jesus, our God the Father showed His grace to us by giving us eternal life instead of the death that we deserve. Slow to anger refers to being patient with our shortcomings and weaknesses. Lastly, abounding in love and faithfulness refers to God never running out of His love and faithfulness towards us. We can easily give up on ourselves, but God never gives up on us.
Psalm 86:15 shows us that we have a God that we can trust and rely on no matter what circumstances we are in, including when we are at our weakest point in our lives. God is reminding us this morning that He has compassion towards us. He knows our needs, and He is going to provide for us according to His perfect will in our lives. He is gracious to us. He is a God who gives us physical and spiritual blessings that we do not deserve. He is a forgiving God and never uses our past sins to condemn us because once He has forgiven us, we are completely forgiven, and God completely erases or removes our past sins (Psalm 103:12). He is always slow to anger or patient with our weaknesses. He is not a God who is strict and ready to lash out at us every time we make a mistake. He has so much love towards us and is always faithful until the end.
Let us be encouraged today that God is for us and not against us. He is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger (patient), and abounding in love and faithfulness towards us. May you have a blessed day today!
Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What should be my attitude today, knowing that God is compassionate, gracious, patient, and abounding in love and faithfulness towards me? Do I believe that God is for me and not against me? What lesson does God is teaching me in today's devotion?
Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.
Prayer:
Dear Father in Heaven, Thank you for being compassionate, gracious, patient, and abounding in love and faithfulness towards me. Please help me to believe and accept all these truths about who you are towards me. Please remind me of who you are towards me when I am anxious or worried about my circumstances. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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