"Compassionate Father"

"But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath." (Psalms 78:38) Understanding God's love and commitment requires that we look past what we know, or even think that we know; these are totally uncharted waters! When God says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you," you can pretty much count any adversity as nothing more than a learning phase. I know it's hard to do that in the midst of something beyond our control; but it's those kind of trials that God works best in; not that He does not work in the little trials, because He does; but in the trails that seem overwhelming, He shows up most powerfully. We tend to think God has a temperament that is a lot like ours, as if God could snap out at us with anger, as we are so capable of doing to each other. For the most part, the trials we experience are totally the result of our own doing; usually the result of not doing what we should, more than doing what we should not. A typical example of what I mean, is that of giving God the glory. It's actually very typical, because we love to make ourselves look better than we are; but when we fail to give God the glory, we miss out on getting the blessing. I know it might not sound like such a big deal, but it's a far bigger deal than you might think. When we fail to give God the glory, we fail Him! The servant slave turning to a son, has overstepped his rightful place, and has all of the sudden taken the role of master; he could not be satisfied with being blessed, he had to make it out to be his own doing. I really don't know why I made that statement, except to say that I am so guilty of doing that myself. Whether we are working for someone, or over many, we can never forget our rightful place! Man, I tell you what, it's like a monster comes out of the closet and is out of control. God is nothing like that! Now, I have got to get this right. We are not capable of loving as God loves, but we are able to have God love through us; and when He does, we must never take the glory, not even to ourselves...
"Pay attention, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I, the LORD, made you, and I will not forget you. I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free." (Isaiah 44:21-22) NLT