I Am Merciful
“Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever.’”
Even when we know God is merciful, it is tempting to hide from his discipline when we sin. Can you hear the call of the Lord in this verse? God is reminding the people of Israel and now us that, even in rebellion, he is the best person to turn to for help.
The enemy works hard to deceive us. One of his favorite lies is to convince us that we are not safe with God. He started the lie in the garden when Adam and Eve hid from the Lord. God’s response to them was simply to say, “Where are you?” I can hear this question echoing to the prophet Jeremiah and now to us.
“Where are you?”
Understand today that the Lord will not look on you in anger. He is merciful — he said so himself. He will not be angry forever.
The anger of the Lord is not like the anger of humans. His anger produces righteousness and justice. When we sin, we are rightful to feel apprehensive about coming before God. It is understandable and even healthy to have a sense of fear when coming to repentance. After all, God is holy, and we are deeply dependent on him to live a life of freedom.
What Jeremiah is writing about is God’s call to break a chronic fear of condemnation. This mindset happens when we become blind to God’s mercy. When we cannot see him as merciful, we cannot see him as good.
But he is merciful. He continues to watch over you as he watched over Israel all those years ago. He leads you like he led Israel, and he continues to offer his leadership even when we disregard his counsel. He offers his spirit as a comforter and healer, just as he gave Israel opportunity after opportunity to repent and return to the promised land of peace.
The danger of resisting God’s mercy is that our hearts would be hardened. A hard heart has a hard time discerning mercy. Today we have an invitation to hear this call from the Lord. We can respond to his message of mercy and safety. Even in your brokenness and in the face of God’s righteous anger, he is merciful and good. His desire is for your restoration and prosperity, so trust him.
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