The Lord Has Compassion

My three-year-old likes to run away from me.  I made the mistake once of chasing after her and laughing about it like it was a joke.  Believe it or not, she still thinks it's a joke.

The other evening I was holding her toothbrush asking her to come back when she ran, giggling, directly toward the door jam.

In that in-between moment, when I knew exactly what was about to happen, do you know what my first thought was? 

This is why you should listen to me.

As expected, the door jam did not jump out of the way of her face.  Tears flowed.

Thankfully, my first thought was immediately drowned out by a wave of compassion.  I hurried over to her side, knelt down, wrapped her sobbing head in my arms, and said, I am so sorry you are hurt.  I covered her with kisses and held her until her cries whimpered out.

I love you, sweetie.  I'm sorry you are hurting.

...

I know that a lot of the hurt I experience in my life is caused by my poor decisions.  I refuse to listen to God.  I run away, even while my Father calls me back to himself.  I don't listen.  I run right into all kinds of hurt.

My greatest fear is that in the midst of all my self-inflicted hurt, God will simply shake his head and say. This is why you should listen to me.  You created this problem.  You figure out how to fix it.

Thankfully, Grace doesn't work that way.  Grace says, You created this problem, but I will fix it.  To put it simply, God is a much better parent than I am.

...

Are you hurting?  

Let God hold you.  Let him wrap you up in Grace until your cries whimper out.  Let him be your compassionate Father.

Should you have listened to him?  Of course.  But you know that.  For this moment, in the middle of your hurt, sink your head into his compassionate care and let him hold you.  Find comfort in his words.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. Psalm 103:8,10,13