Moderator
Staff Member
"Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. "Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the LORD has punished her twice over for all her sins." Isaiah 40:1-2
While God loves you enough to let you make your own choices and to reap what you sow in your life, His punishment doesn't nullify His compassion and mercy. Even as you suffer the consequences of your sins and faults, God is far from smug or angry. He takes no delight in seeing you receive what you deserve. In fact, God is eager to move on and to lead you into renewal--the sooner the better.
As God spoke to the devastated people of Jerusalem, there was only a heartfelt call for mercy and compassion for people who were as guilty as anyone had ever been.
In the midst of failure or your own downfall due to sin, it's hard to imagine that God would speak words of comfort. Far from determining who is in and who is out, God's plan has always been one of rescue and restoration. True, your sins have terrible consequences and can't go unaddressed. However, God's preferred way of dealing with your sins is pardon and restoration, healing and hope.
While God loves you enough to let you make your own choices and to reap what you sow in your life, His punishment doesn't nullify His compassion and mercy. Even as you suffer the consequences of your sins and faults, God is far from smug or angry. He takes no delight in seeing you receive what you deserve. In fact, God is eager to move on and to lead you into renewal--the sooner the better.
As God spoke to the devastated people of Jerusalem, there was only a heartfelt call for mercy and compassion for people who were as guilty as anyone had ever been.
In the midst of failure or your own downfall due to sin, it's hard to imagine that God would speak words of comfort. Far from determining who is in and who is out, God's plan has always been one of rescue and restoration. True, your sins have terrible consequences and can't go unaddressed. However, God's preferred way of dealing with your sins is pardon and restoration, healing and hope.