Tag: God’s gentleness

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.

He will not always accuse us
or be angry forever…

As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

For he knows what we are made of,
remembering that we are dust. (Psalm 103: 8-9, 13-14)

God brought those verses to mind as I read 1 Kings 19 today.

Elijah was in a full-blown pity party. And God could have easily said, “You want to die? Fine! Die!”

But instead, God showed great concern for him, sending an angel to give him food and drink.

And then there was his interaction with Elijah on the mountain.

I wonder what Elijah was thinking when God told him, “Go out on the mountain and stand in my presence.”

Did he go out in trepidation, fearing God’s response? Did he expect a scathing rebuke?

If he did, God certainly gave him a lot to look at, a fierce wind, an earthquake, fire.

But when Elijah looked carefully, God wasn’t in any of those things.

Instead, when God spoke again, he spoke gently.

That said, God didn’t leave Elijah in his pity party. He called Elijah out of that pity party and back into his service.

So many Christians have this deep-seeded fear of God. They feel he’s always accusing, always angry at us for our failures.

But our Father is not that way. He doesn’t come screaming at us. He comes at us with a gentle whisper, calling us to get up and follow him once more.