Names of God: Through Thanksgiving & ChristmasPrøve

Isaiah prophesies and shares the role that Jesus would play in His people’s lives. He will care for, nurture, protect, and guide His people as a shepherd does with his sheep. Believers are privileged to go boldly to the throne of God for our every need. We can rely on His unlimited supply of grace and mercy without fear, without doubt, without hesitation. We have an open invitation to draw near to Him especially in our weaknesses and our failings. Jesus is not unmoved or indifferent to our pain, our struggles, or our sorrows. He has endured everything that we will ever face and because He is God He did not sin. Therefore He knows that in those times of temptation and weakness, we need God more than ever and urges us to come to Him. God is not surprised by our failings, by our mistakes, or by our struggles. He is never caught off guard, but is waiting with open arms for us to run to Him for grace, mercy, and help. Human nature is to hide our weaknesses from others, to put on a happy face around people, to swallow our sorrow to make others comfortable. But Jesus has a tender heart for His people that melts for us, that moves for us, that yearns for us, that endures with us, that will comfort us, that pours out mercy on us… so that we need not fear God’s judgment, ridicule, disappointment, rejection, or frustration when we come to Him just as we are. Are you misjudging God’s character as one of a distant, disappointed Judge instead of as our nurturing Shepherd? What are you failing to surrender to God out of fear of judgment, ridicule, or frustration? Believers can go boldly to the throne because only love, grace, and mercy is found there. We have a God of love who is never surprised or discouraged by what we do. He is simply waiting with compassion for us to run to Him with anything and everything. Father God, I thank You for sending me a Savior, because I needed rescued and I continue to need Him each day. I thank You for witnessing without judgment my agonizing struggle with temptation, and for knowing my deepest heart’s desire is to live for Your glory. When my instinct is to run from You, when my inclination is to hide from You, when my urge is to lie to You…remind me that You know my frailties intimately, and have compassion and mercy stored up for me to overflowing when I come humbly to seek You and lay it all at Your feet. In Jesus’ name. Amen.