An Inexhaustible Supply

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:15 (New King James Version)

God will many times use the physical world to teach me spiritual truths which include aspects of Himself. This morning, His visual aid to me is our little dog, Chloe. We purchased her from a Humane Society in Tennessee about a year ago and have come to appreciate her as a valued member of our family. We have seen her over come timidity in many areas and celebrated her progress of over coming more as time went on. When confronted with her timid moments we responded with compassion and patience rather than anger or disgust. We understood she had a history we knew nothing of and we took that into account when her weaknesses surfaced.

This morning as I remembered progress made, God reminded me of my gracious attitude toward Chloe before and after she over came fears and intimidations. Instantly, He urged me to see Him as having the same demeanor toward me before and after I have over come an area in my life. He desires for me to lose the view of Him that He thinks the worst of me in my weaknesses. That His patience will run out long before I stand in victory. That I have somehow exhausted His supply of longsuffering and mercy. The untruth of such thinking is one of the reasons He included the words “full” and “abundant” in today’s verse. He carries more than enough of His character and attributes into His relationship with me.

He knows my history and every reason behind every weakness. He knows where I still need growth and development. He knows that my perspective of others and myself can still throw me for a loop. He knows I often feel I am not doing things right or moving fast enough on this journey. He knows that I have mixed feelings about the people in my life and still struggle to find the balance between looking to Him and looking to others for the meeting of needs. Yet, His knowledge of me does not diminish His compassion, graciousness, longsuffering, mercy, or truth. It might diminish those qualities in others but not in Him.

For those of us who have lived our lives with skewed thinking, wrong perceptions, and distorted views, this is a truth that must be received and reviewed on a daily basis. It will not stick after just one time of seeing it. I am in need of hearing it today and I will be in need of hearing it again tomorrow and for each tomorrow after that until I know that I know that I know I finally have it!

Father, You keep showing me the truths that I am desperate to grasp. I need the reminders and I need You. Amen.

By Grace Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6lhilgWXIE

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.