Attributes of Our Heavenly Father #2
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him…He is mindful that we are but dust.”
Psalm 103:13
I love that God tags on the statement that “He is mindful that we are but dust.”! God knows that in this world is suffering and sorrows. He feels deeply our hurts and our pains. He desires to alleviate that suffering! His mindfulness that we are but dust is to reassure us that He does not expect us to be perfect, to react perfectly, or to not have to suffer in this world of decay. And when He sees our suffering, He cares. So often we blame our suffering on the Almighty when it is really Satan and Satan’s world system that brings about our suffering. Or our suffering is caused by our own sinfulness. Either way, God did not cause it! But He has compassion on us in and through it.
Listen to 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are our in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.” So He is the Father of mercies and comfort. Sounds like compassion to me!
What about this fearing God part? This is not the fear of a robber waiting for judgment. No! We have been redeemed, reconciled, justified. We do not fear the judgment of God but rather we stand in awe at His holiness and reverence His authority and position and being. And thus He is our everlasting Father who is a God of compassion and mercy.