GOD IS GRACIOUS
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
(Psalm 103:8-14, NIV)
God is gracious. He gives us gifts and we have benefits being children of God we didn’t earn or deserve. That’s God’s Grace. It’s one of His many attributes we continue to look at, in the hopes of knowing God more and growing closer to Him.
In this Psalm, David is describing God’s love, compassion and grace for his people and comparing it to Father’s love for those who have turned away from Him.
We have talked about God’s love before and it’s impossible to mention God’s Grace and Him being Gracious without also pointing out His love and mercy. They are all entwined together.
Think of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by GRACE you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
It is because of God’s amazing and abounding love, who also extends us mercy – that He saved us by His GRACE.
The Gospel is the good news of God’s amazing GRACE. God gave us the gift of His only Son Jesus – His Love, His Grace is demonstrated on the cross for us, dying for all of our sins and what we did wrong so we could have a relationship with the Father. We can’t earn the gift of salvation. We don’t deserve it. God is Gracious.
When we truly understand this and embrace this, we are in awe and it causes an action in us that we simply cannot live the same.
Prayer: Father, thank You for Your Grace. You are Love, You are Good, You are Kind and Gracious. You give us gifts we don’t deserve and we thank You for the greatest gift you gave in Jesus, who died on the cross for all our sins so we could have a right relationship with you. We stand in awe of all of what You do for us and how gracious You are, day in and day out. Help us to grow in Your Grace that You give to us so freely. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
We hope you are encouraged today and that God lavishes His Grace upon You.
Christine Batchelder