Our Daily Bread Jan 14
Our Compassionate God / By: Patricia Raybon You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes.
Psalm 138:7
Today's Scripture & Insight:
Psalm 138 (NIV):
Of David.
1 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame.
3 When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me.
4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD, when they hear what you have decreed.
5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.
6 Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will vindicate me; your love, LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.
The winter night was cold when someone threw a large stone through a Jewish child’s bedroom window. A star of David had been displayed in the window, along with a menorah to celebrate Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights. In the child’s town of Billings, Montana, thousands of people—many of them believers in Jesus—responded to the hateful act with compassion. Choosing to identify with the hurt and fear of their Jewish neighbors, they pasted pictures of menorahs in their own windows.
As believers in Jesus, we too receive great compassion. Our Savior humbled Himself to live among us (John 1:14), identifying with us. On our behalf, He, “being in very nature God . . . made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6–7). Then, feeling as we feel and weeping as we weep, He died on a cross, sacrificing His life to save ours.
Nothing we struggle with is beyond our Savior’s concern. If someone “throws rocks” at our lives, He comforts us. If life brings disappointments, He walks with us through despair. “Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar” (Psalm 138:6). In our troubles, He preserves us, stretching out His hand against both “the anger of [our] foes” (v. 7) and our own deepest fears. Thank You, God, for Your compassionate love.
Today’s Hymns:
Wonderful Merciful Savior
Compassion Hymn
Scripture to Respond:
Luke 6:35-36
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Jude 21-22
21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt;
Reflection:
In what aspects of your life do you need God’s mercy?
How do you treat others with God’s love and compassion?
Prayer:
Oh God, thank You for understanding my grief and caring me with Your love and comfort. Please help me to treat others with mercy too.
Wong Wai Tung (Chief executive officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) & Sam Chow (Administrative officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) Translated by Esther Leung
