“The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love,
forgiving iniquity and transgression…”
(Numbers 14:18)
The grounds for drawing near to God are found in the promises of the Gospel and His Covenant of Grace. And from those many promises for pardon, protection, comfort, and provision, we should commit to memory one or two of every kind. That way, when we encounter difficulty or affliction, we can run with abandon to God our refuge, armed with His promise and assured that He is patient with us in our weakness and time of need. For every need we encounter, we can find a remedy in the support and comfort of our great God.
Are you burdened with the guilt of sin, so that your soul nears the pit of despair?
William Spurstowe, Westminster divine, said, “He is the Lord who alone has the absolute power of life and death in His hands; but He is the Lord God merciful, who far more willingly scatters His pardons in forgiving, than executes His justice in condemning – like a bee that gathers honey with delight, but does not sting… unless it is greatly provoked. God is gracious.”
We have nothing to fear in our times of weakness, for God is never incited to mercy by something inherit in us. Rather He is moved by the goodness inherent in Himself. His love for us does not spring from delighting in our beauty but from pitying our depravity. He is longsuffering. He is abundant in mercy. Where our sin abounds, His grace abounds more.
And God makes good on His promises. He remains faithful, even when we do not. All sinners of all ages cannot exhaust the treasures of His mercy. His reserves are not just for a few, but for as many as receive Him. For those who are called according to His purpose, His grace is sufficient to forgive all our iniquity, transgression and sin.
So for those of us who mourn under our weakness and lack of holiness (Hosea 14:5-7), God promises to be our everlasting fountain of life. He is patient to deal with our infirmities so that we may be covered, comforted and supported in His love and by His Son. “They shall grow as the lily and cast forth their roots as Lebanon. Their branches shall spread, and their beauty shall be as the olive tree. They shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine.”
- Lord, if I experience fear and encounter danger, how encouraged and hopeful would I be if I could just hold steadfastly to Your promises of comfort and support? “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you,” (Isaiah 43:2). Who could save Jonah from the unruly sea and the mouth of the whale but You? And who could walk in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and not be consumed but the Son of God? Keep me, Lord, inside the arms of Your grace.
- When tears come, when afflictions come, when I need support and comfort, You promise Your grace will be with me. You promise to be with me in my trials. That does not mean You will remove those trials and make my life a bed of roses. But it does mean that as You order my trials, You never leave me. So that in my most challenging difficulties I am assured that nothing can separate me from Your love, and You order all things for my good.
- I often think, Lord, that when those hard times come, I will not be able to get through them. But as I read Your Word, I see all kinds of provisions that You make for Your people. The widow’s little barrel of flour in the famine yielded a better supply than Ahab in his storehouse and granary. Her corn had oil in it, when his olive yards had none. How sure and contented should I be as a believer in You and Your promises, as I rest in the blessed truths of Your Word and there discover the comfort and support I need. Help me draw a fresh supply of grace from those promises sufficient to sustain me through all my hard times.
Further References for Num. 14:18
Exod. 20:5, 34:6-7; Jonah 4:2; Exod. 20:6; Ps. 103:8, 145:8
