October 16, 2022 - Psalms 103:8-10

“The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.” Psalms 103:8-10 NLT

Lord, we praise you for your grace and forgiveness. The way you forgive again and again is hard for me to understand. Your love for us is so great. You are so understanding. We thank you that you don’t just look at the action, but you understand the reasons behind the actions. You have compassion on us and show us mercy when we don’t deserve it. We thank you for how you love us. Your love is always unfailing and unending. It is unbelievable how patient you are with us. Again and again, you forgive.

Lord, we cause you so much pain when we know better and yet still choose to sin. How many times do we choose to hide you as if we are ashamed of you rather than radiantly shine you to the world around us? How often do we choose the “safe” choice that might cause us to compromise a little just so that we will blend in better with our peers and not stand out as different? When we do these things, they cause you more pain. If a good friend acted as if they were ashamed to know us in front of other people or chose to do things that we have asked them not to do, we would be very hurt. It would feel like a betrayal. We might forgive a few times, but it wouldn’t take long before our hurt and anger got the best of us and our willingness to keep forgiving the action would run out. Yet, you keep forgiving us and giving us another chance. We are so grateful, but help us not to abuse your willingness to forgive. Help us return your love by changing our behavior and learning how to live in a way that honors you in all we do. Help us learn to treat you the way we want others to treat us.

In Jesus name, amen.