Day 67 with David: The Lord deals with us according to Who He is.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭51:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

I believe that there are “window-into-the-soul” moments for all of us. That is, I believe that there are circumstances through which our own inner nature is revealed, writ large. For example, many people abstain from doing evil, simply because of their fear of punishment. As an aside, this is the reason we are seeing rising crime in our society; with our moral decay, there has also been a slackening of consequences for crimes committed by particular groups. But leaving that where it is, I will go on to say, it is readily revealed what a person has in their heart to do when they are given the opportunity to do it with impunity. Every parent knows that the true test of the effectiveness of the character training they have imparted to their children, is when the child is away from their watchful eye, free to do what they will.

Another type of situation that will reveal the contents of the inner recesses of a person’s heart and mind, is when someone has done something bad to them (lying on them, cheating on them, etc.), and the aggrieved person is handed the opportunity—tied up with a bow on top—to be able to do the perpetrator in.

Sadly, there are many people who—given the a chance—would do terrible things. And, the only reason they don’t, is because of some sort of restraint imposed on them.

Now—within the context of what has just been said—consider the case of how the Lord operates. He can literally do whatever He wants to do! Who or what could restrain Him? So, with the Lord, we see that whatever He does is strictly because of His own character.

It’s very good news for us that God acts according to His own character, in that, man, having openly rebelled against the law of God, was redeemed through what God Himself did for us through Jesus Christ. He does what He does for us according to His own nature.

“This is a faithful and trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; If we endure, we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him, He will also deny us; If we are faithless, He remains faithful [true to His word and His righteous character], for He cannot deny Himself.”

‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2:11-13‬ ‭AMP‬‬

We see that some things—in terms of our relationship with God—are definitely reciprocal. We cannot live with Him if we do not die with Him (to our own way of being and doing); we cannot expect to be exonerated through His righteousness, if we have denied Him in this life. But here’s the clincher: even when we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, because that is Who He is.

We see throughout the scriptures, the Lord reminding His people that He is doing, what He is doing for them, because of His own Name’s sake, not because of anything they had done to deserve it.

““Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”

‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭36:22-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The greatest test of the character of God in Jesus Christ, came as He hung on the cross in the presence of His accusers, tormentors, and executioners, and—rather than calling for their destruction—asked His Father to forgive them.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:8-9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In our portion from Psalms today we find David—after the occasion of his being challenged by the prophet Nathan concerning his responsibility in the death of Uriah—asking the Lord to forgive his sin, according to the Lord‘s own lovingkindness and mercy. David knew he had not a leg to stand on concerning his sin. The only thing he could stand on was God’s own character.

The mercy and lovingkindness of our Lord is beyond our comprehension. Many of us know what we might have done, given the opportunity to do as we pleased, facing no recourse. But our God, displays His character for all to see, as He daily loads us with undeserved benefits and new mercies. Great is His faithfulness!

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

The Lord deals with us according to Who He is.

#100dayswithdavid