Welcome to Day 4. for one of our short powerful devotions from the 30 Bible Verses About God's Amazing Grace, bible reading plan. This short devotional is based on Psalm 145:8-9. It is a compassion devotional! We serve a gracious God, a God of compassion. Psalm 145 is full of the attributes of God and we will look at just two of these beautiful and encouraging bible verses today.
Read Psalm 145:8-9
God is gracious!
Psalm 145 is the final psalm that David wrote. It expresses his worship to our gracious God, Yahweh.
It seems that verse 8, "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." is found eight times in the Bible and is a phrase that the people of Israel knew and quoted often.
In fact, "It was Jewish custom to recite Psalm 145 twice in the morning and once in their evening service. The Talmud (Book of Jewish Law) commends all who repeat it three times a day as having a share in the world to come" (William Vancemeren).
So let's unpack these bible verses that reveal some of the attributes of God that will fill you with praise and worship, just like our Psalmist, David.
God is full of compassion and mercy. That means that God does not give us what we deserve, and His gracious compassion means that He gives us what we do not deserve.
The Lord is gracious and compassionate Devotional:
God is a God of compassion, He is slow to anger and rich in love. That second part, 'slow to anger, and rich in love, those words right there straight from scripture, fill me with such relief and joy! I don't know how perfect you are, but I am so imperfect! I mess up all the time! God sees me and everything that I do every day but He sees me through the lens of the cross. Thank you, God, for your mercy and grace, and for sending Jesus to bridge that enormous gap between our sin and your holiness. Amen!
There is a beautiful name for God, called El Roi, which means the God who sees me. God watchfully sees both you and me. He sees the events that cause us anguish in our lives and the joys too. He wants to be right there in the midst of our lives if we allow Him to.
what does gracious mean in the bible?
Here is a list of the attributes of God that we see in Psalm 145:8-9:
The LORD is gracious — This is defined as the unmerited favor of God, His grace is full of blessings that we do not deserve.
The LORD is full of compassion — God is not just compassionate, He is FULL of compassion. Compassion is defined as sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings of others. God is compassionate, compassion is something of which the Lord has no shortage. If you are in the midst of difficult circumstances, trust God to show you His compassion. He will lead you through them and fill you with His grace to go through them. I do not say this lightly. I have walked this difficult path a few times!
The LORD is slow to anger — As you face the emotions of others (and even yourself), who are often quick-tempered, bitter, or irritable, remember that one of God’s attributes is that He is slow to anger. Have patience with yourself and those around you. And most importantly, accept God's gracious gift of grace. Remember that HE sees you through the work that Jesus did on the cross, that most wonderful redemptive work! God is slow to get angry with you.
The LORD is full of mercy — As grace is the unmerited favor of God, mercy is not giving us what we deserve. Do you need to extend mercy and grace to someone that may have offended you or done you wrong? Ask God to fill you with His wisdom, mercy, and grace and apply it to your friend or family member.
Prayerfully studying and meditating on the character traits and names of God is one of the most, faith-building and encouraging things that you can do for walking in the grace of God. It will dramatically reduce your anxiety and build up your faith muscle. You will remember how Big and gracious is our God and how He longs to be welcomed into our everyday lives.
Today's devotional is based on Psalm 145:8-9 that is from our 30 Bible Verses About God's Amazing Grace, bible reading plan. You will find a free printable PDF of 30 scriptures about God's grace in the Resource Library. It has the bible reading plan, guided prayer, and gratitude journal. Download this free printable or grab a notebook.
Today, consider the following questions prayerfully:
Who needs you to show them God's mercy and grace today?
What is God saying to you through these verses?
What burdens do you need to surrender to God and trust Him with?
Write out your prayer request.
What are you grateful for today? Count your blessings!
Write out the scripture verse, it helps you to memorize the scripture and store up God's truth in your heart.
Then in the last section of the prayer journal, there is space to record what God is speaking to you through our grace bible verse for today, Psalm 145:8-9.
Scripture Prayer - God is gracious
We are called to pray without ceasing. That means we can talk with God at any time and in any place. You can chat with God throughout the day! Praying scripture is a powerful way to pray so join me in praying Psalm 145:8-9.
Thank you Father for your mercy and grace. You are full of compassion, slow to anger, and rich in your love for me. Help me to comprehend this truth. You love me in the messy state that I am in and You graciously want to come into every area of my life and fill it with Your grace. Show me anyone that I need to extend mercy and grace to today. Amen.
Related Resources:
You will find 30 Bible Verses About God's Amazing Grace (Free Bible Plan And Prayer Journal) HERE It will have the list of 30 Bible verses that we are using for 30 days that our short powerful daily devotionals are based on.
You may also enjoy reading 30 Powerful Hebrew Names Of God And Their Meaning (Free Printable)
If you are ready for more devotional Bible study and prayer resources in a printable/digital format, then check out our growing, super-saver Bible Study and Prayer bundle (includes all our licenses for church and small group use😊. Just click on the pic!
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xx Karen.