God Is Gracious and Merciful In Thwarting the Accusations of the Devil
Attributes of God
God is merciful, which means He is compassionate, holds back punishment that is deserved, and extends loving-kindness, or hesed, to humanity. Rooted in His love, this mercy is shown through forgiveness, care, and the salvation offered through Jesus Christ, rather than rewarding people based solely on their transgressions. – Literature credit: First Baptist Church
Inspiration
If you think God is out there to spank you at the least offense, it a liar of the devil. Our God is a loving and compassionate God. ‘The anger of the Lord endures but for a moment. In His favor is life’ (Psalm 30:5) – Be reminded. Don’t commit suicide or walk with persistent guilt of that sin. It is the devil’s plan to send you into destruction. People say, ‘I have nothing to live for’. Sorry, you have a reason to live.
‘The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love”. (Psalm 103:8). Some people feel it is their last chance on earth. It is the devil that is whispering to you. God is always providing chances for us to amend our wrongs. Every day is an opportunity. God is never tired of us. In actual fact, God is waiting for you to give up on that sinful life. He has time for you. If He is going to strike or eliminate you the next moment then as an Almighty, His Grace is limited. The tolerance of God is immeasurable compared to men.
Men cannot endure beyond a certain point but God does. Consider that God has given us a solution to sin which is salvation but people are still sinning and not going or asking for it. Yet He is still loving and patient as God. How? He would have wiped out humanity. Remember when God sought for righteous men during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah? Without fifty or more people, God could have wiped out but Abraham who is a friend of God, interceded for a minimum of five people which was accepted by God. Again, but for the intervention of Moses, God could have wiped out the Israelites who continued sinning on their way to Canaan. God is ever Merciful.
If God is not compassionate, He wouldn’t have provided for you in your time of scarcity. When you were at the point of death or wanting to crash, that thought was a lifeline from God to keep you holding on. Remember people went through similar situations and lost their lives. Don’t take it for granted therefore. Jesus had compassion over the sick and that was why he was moved to heal them. He provided food in other instances such as the feeding of the five thousand and more.
God’s slowness to anger, ‘holds back punishment that is deserved’. Do you realize that, some condemned prisoners are freed through amnesty? There are ones who could have been killed through firing squad, hanging or anything of that sort. Yet the sentences were reduced to life imprisonment which provides opportunity for reforms. Fifty years sentences can be reduced to twenty-five years. These are examples of how God’s anger can be reduced against us through human actions or favors.
If God doesn’t love mankind, He wouldn’t have descended on earth through His son to die for us after He had given man all the privileges. But His loving-kindness is beyond mere love. ‘Love is kind (1 Corinthians 13). Kindness is to be extremely good in the moment of love. People can love but not kind. Some persons can find it hard to go to the extreme in loving people. Especially persons who gave their hearts out and were rewarded with evil. Coming to die in human flesh was great sacrifice. The pain and disgrace was a symbol of God’s sincere love towards mankind. Go beyond what you can bear by the Grace of the Almighty God.
Do you know that God has a big heart so that his forgiveness is automatic? Before you open your mouth to ask, He has already forgiven you. You and I find it so hard to forgive because our love is limited and situational. We love people we desire to love. We are not merciful because human beings do not possess that attribute. It is only one without sin that can bail a sinful man. Bailing a sinful man requires the highest form of mercy. God had to make huge sacrifices through his death to assume the position of a Merciful God. The devil cannot deceive you therefore of God’s capacity to have Mercy which covers every size of sin. You’re covered. Don’t let the devil deceive you.
People often say. ‘God is taking care of us’. Indeed if you say it, God will take care of you. The hope of our Christianity is in our confessions and acknowledging our success as God-based. For instance if you say ‘By His Grace’ immediately, the Grace of God takes over. He provides you grace to survive tumultuous situations. Since the situation is difficult, that is why we require God’s Mercy and Grace.
God has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities (Psalm 103:10). Those of you who think therefore that, God is punishing you because of that sin is a liar. Be an intercessor for the sins of our fathers. Stand in the gap and ask God’s Mercy for forgiveness. God is looking for a just man and like Abraham who stood in, God sees you as righteous man when you pray such prayers in consecration moods. His Mercies can deliver us from ancient problems. The evidence is that, you prosper and remain in good health. Bad reports are not part of your story.
