GOD PROMISES COMPASSION & GRACE
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalms 103:8
We are looking at promises from God to use in our spiritual warfare. Knowing and using them make all the difference between defeat and victory. God’s promises in this verse are to assure us of gracious, loving treatment. All His dealings with us will be done with compassion, grace, lack of anger and abounding in love. What wonderful promises!
Satan tries to defeat us in our minds and thoughts by telling us lies about God, like he did to Eve (Genesis 3:4). He told her that God wasn’t good, that He was withholding good from her (Genesis 3:5). When she believed that lie, she was open to disobeying God. And the rest, as they say, is history. Let’s look at these promises about God’s character and treatment of us in more detail.
- COMPASSIONATE
Satan’s lie is that God is impatient, that He has run out of patience with us because of our failures and sin. Therefore, He doesn’t care about us – no one does! Have you ever heard that lie? How did you respond? I hope with the truth that verses like this promise. God always understands, even when no one else does. Jesus understands because He is God and knows all things, but also because He went through everything we go through and knows by experience (Hebrews 4:15-16). He hurts when we hurt.
We may expect too much of ourselves but He never does for He knows we are weak and prone to failure (Psalm 103:14). Satan has no compassion; he is totally self-absorbed in himself. He is pride personified. God is the opposite. He is other centered. His focus is on us, not Himself. Or else why would He have left perfect heaven to come to a sin-infested world to die a painful death on a cross for those who mock and reject Him? God is compassionate. Don’t ever think differently. That’s a promise you can count on.
- GRACIOUS
How can God be so compassionate to me when I don’t deserve it? That is grace, and that’s the second characteristic of God we are promised we can count on. Satan lies and tells us that we don’t deserve God’s compassion and mercy – and it’s true that we don’t. But deserving it has nothing to do with it because it is freely given by grace. God’s grace depends on the giver, not the recipient. When God promises to show grace, He shows it, no matter what we have or haven’t done. We don’t earn it or deserve it. It is free. That’s why it is called “grace.”
Satan’s lies tell us we have failed too many times, sinned too badly and that it’s too late for us. That is true of him, but not of us! God never runs out of grace for it is part of His very nature. It’s not a supply He draws from, it is His very essence to be gracious. And the less we deserve it the more His grace is seen. If we didn’t need it, it wouldn’t be grace. The more undeserving we are the more His grace is seen, and He is glorified in that.
He never runs out of grace of mercy, they are “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Satan, in contrast, has no grace or mercy on anyone. He has never shown anyone compassion, not even his own demons. When the final judgment comes, he will be shown no mercy, either (Revelation 20:1-10).
We’ll finish this verse in the next blog. In the next week memorize Psalm 103:8. Have it handy in your mind and heart. You’ll refer to it often!
(My blogs about my India ministry are currently in a series on the promises of God as they relate to daily Christian life. If you would like to be on this mailing list contact me at jerry@schmoyer.net.)
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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