Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18 NIV
Do you yearn for more of God? This scripture tells us He longs to be gracious to us. If we believe that, our response should be a longing for more of Him, more of His grace, unless pride makes us pull away and try to earn His favor.
That famous line, quoted as though it is scripture, says “God helps those who help themselves.” The truth is, when we can’t do anything for ourselves, we’re in the perfect place for God to pour out His grace.
The world’s justice tells us we don’t deserve God’s graciousness—we’ve made too many mistakes—but God’s justice is wrapped in love and mercy. Instead of pointing to our failures and telling us we’re worthless, He forgives our sins and totally forgets them. They’re as far from His thoughts as the east is from the west (see Psalm 103:12).
When we run into His arms of love and let His grace overwhelm us, we will long for more of Him. He’s too magnificent to ignore. It’s impossible to turn our backs on all He does for us. The natural response is to accept His compassion. He longs to give it and waits patiently until we’re ready to receive.
Dear Lord, I long to receive Your gracious compassion. I yearn for more of You! Help me set aside my own desires and fall down before You, amazed by Your astonishing justice. Amen.
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Today’s reading was adapted from Daily Wisdom for Women: 2017 Devotional Collection with permission from Barbour Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Reading was written by Ardythe Kolb.