8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. 10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, 12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

When we stop and honestly think about how we are made and the wonders of God’s handiwork (what we call nature) it is mind boggling that he is mindful of us at all. Yet, when we consider that we, as people, are made in his own image, it is only natural that he is concerned about us and cares for us. Again, when we think about how much we have done to cause him grief and disappointment, we wonder how he could still be patient with us and want to show us kindness. But God is not who and what he is because of what we do or circumstances that prevail. God is who he is and what he is because it is his very nature. The Lord is gracious and compassionate because it is his nature to be those things. He is slow to anger and filled with love because he is God; it is his very being. God is love.

Yet, because of our sin, we are separated from our God. Because of his justice we are lost. Paul says without God we are without hope. This picture of doom is what is painted for us (and all mankind) because we all have sinned against God and we all have failed to live up to his glorious expectation for our lives. But this is not the end of the story. God, in his love and because of his gracious nature has provided a way that we can be reconciled with him and thus brought back into complete harmony with him. We can be considered as sinless – that is as though we had actually lived up to his glory and his expectations – through the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. Just as there is no hope for those who do not know God, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! Eph 2:4-5 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.

I thank you God for your gracious love and for your tender mercy. I know that I fail to be what you want me to be. Forgive me, I pray. Help me to study more to know your will. Give me wisdom to understand it and strength to put it into practice. Give me a determined heart to make your will my will. Help me get rid of my selfishness and the desire to always please myself but rather yield my spirit to you in humble service. I pray in Jesus’ name.

May God bless each of us as we live for him today.