“Your compassion is great, O LORD; preserve my life according to Your laws.” -Psalm 119:156

I am grateful for God’s compassion. What would it be like to serve an all-powerful Creator who lacked compassion on His creation? I think some view God this way from lack of knowledge about what the Bible actually says regarding the Lord’s character. It can also stem from an unfortunate upbringing where an earthly father was absent or abusive, projecting this understanding of a father onto our Heavenly Father. Whatever the reason, the truth of the matter is found throughout Scripture. The heart of God is made flesh in the heart of Christ. Just as God pursued Adam and Eve in the Garden after they sinned, Jesus sought out the outcasts, the self-righteous, the diseased, the weary- sinners.

The story Jesus told of the prodigal son is a picture of every redeemed sinner coming back to his true Father. And how is the father in the story portrayed? When he sees his wayward son coming home, while he was still a distance away, “his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20). God is perfectly compassionate, perfect in power and justice. He is able to preserve His people however He sees right. Spiritually speaking, His elect are preserved for all eternity because of His great mercy. It is His will to preserve us, so that not one sheep is lost. God blesses such a prayer like the psalmist’s, but it may not be answered in a way he (or we) expects. Our faith is made even more precious when we pray expectantly, waiting on His timing, not ours. Fear not, God is at work mercifully saving and keeping those who belong to Him. This is the second of three prayers in this octave requesting preservation from the Lord.

Grace upon grace,

April

Growing deeper: Luke 15:11-32; John 17:6-26; Ephesians 2:1-10