“Yes, rend your heart and not your garments, and
return to the Lord your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to
anger, and of great kindness, and He repents of the evil.” – Joel 2:13
God is plenteous in mercy, abundant in goodness, ready to forgive, wholly good, and perfectly compassionate. He sends rain on the just and the unjust. We experience these attributes because of His astounding kindness.
Elohim’s kindness shocks and woos our hearts. Their consistent goodness has eventually gotten through to my hard heart — pricking my conscience — leading me to trembling weeping humble repentance.
Their enduring long-suffering preserves my path of salvation.
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (NKV) – Romans 2:4
People can get tired of me, but I can’t tire God out!
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…(NKV) – 1 Peter 3:15
The Creator is in it for keeps. He’s not a quitter.
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable. – Isaiah 40:28
He keeps HIS covenant.
…looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKV) – Hebrews 12:2
And HE is SO SO SO KIND with me and my loved ones. He is patient and intentional, like a man drawing in a wild animal to trustingly eat out of his hand.
…in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began…(NKV) – Titus 1:2
As an humble amazed loved vessel of mercy, I honor Him by making known the riches of His glory.
What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? – Romans 9:22-24
Jonah was being a brat, yet God grew some shade for him in the scorching heat.
And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. – Jonah 4:6
The younger son wasted his inheritance, yet his prodigal father unabashedly ran to greet and embrace and kiss him in his raggedy state.
And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. – Luke 15:20
God approved Lot to go to a nearby town rather than the intended mountains because he felt safer in a town.
And he said to him, “See, I have favored you concerning this thing also, in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there. For I cannot do anything until you arrive there. – Genesis 19:21-22
Unsolicited, Jesus resurrected the son of a woman out of compassion.
And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people. –Luke 7:12-16
May we each show our kindness in return, by going after Him in the wilderness world where we all live.
I remember you,
The kindness of your youth,
The love of your betrothal,
When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown. – Jeremiah 2:2
You might enjoy reading our previous blog post on Kindness here.