The Truth We So Easily Forget

"The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy." Psalm 145:8

Today was one of those days that I turned to the center of my bible and read the first Psalm that my eyes fell upon. The verse above was like a slap in the face in some senses. Truth so simple that I often overlook the reality of it. In the everyday messes I face sometimes, I find myself thinking just the opposite of my God.

Put your name in all the blanks: The Lord is gracious toward______and full of compassion for______, slow to get angry at_____and great in mercy toward________.

On days when things don't go as you think they should, do you ever feel like God has used all His compassion on someone else, that He must be angry with you, or that He seems to be merciful to people who don't care about Him? I know that I am not alone in this faulty thinking. It is a lie that Satan tries his hardest to make us believe. We wouldn't need all the verses in the Bible about God's character if I was the only one prone to doubt that adjectives God uses to were really true all the time.

Read the Bible and see for yourself that we are constantly being told how awesome and loving our God is. The Old and New Testments are filled with descriptions for God. God knew that as weak and fearful humans, needed to make sure to give us frequent reminders of His perfect goodness in the Scriptures. I realized today how subtle our enemy, the devil, undermines this particular truth and whispers lies to us. He doesn't want us to believe God is who He says He is and trust in that because Satan knows it will give us the faith and belief that we need to move on and accomplish God's purposes and will for our lives.

I decided to write Psalm 145:8 down on an index card because I need to remember even in the bad days God is not against me. He is not like us in His responses to us. My compassion, mercy, and forgiveness directed to others will never compare to the love the Father has for you and me. His mercy, love, compassion and grace surpasses our best efforts at showing these qualities. Just reading and tucking that truth at the forefront of my mind today has given me new peace and energy for the day.

Forgive me Lord for things about you that are true yet I so easily forget or doubt. Help me renew my mind daily about the truth of who you are even when I doubt for a moment.