God is......

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. - Psalm 86:15

Wow! I LOVE this verse! It really makes you think about what God is. I mean really, think about it, God is compassionate. When we need someone to lean on, someone to makes us feel better, He is always there. He has compassion for us.
God is gracious. I looked up the definition of gracious and one of the defining words was merciful. Whew! I don't know what I would do if God wasn't merciful?! I mean think about how many times we sin, we anger God, we do something that displeases Him. I can only speak for myself but I do that A LOT. If God wasn't a god of mercy I don't think I would have salvation today.
The next thing it says is that God is slow to anger. That kind of goes along with being merciful. I'm sure if I was serving a God who wasn't slow to anger, I would have some wrath pouring down on me. Because girls, we all sin, and it's hard to control your anger, and we get irritated so easily. But God on the other hand is slow to anger and patient. It also says that God is abounding in love and faithfulness! That just about says it all! He is faithful to us and will never leave us. Okay, so now you are thinking, oh this is cool characteristics of God, fun, awesome, but how can I apply this to my life right now? How does knowing about God help me grow spiritually. Well, God asks us to be Christ-like. Sooo, considering that, if God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, loving, and faithful, that means that we need to strive to be like that too! Hebrews 12:1-3 says: ^"1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." So run your race well! Our world says that you don't even have to finish the race, and if you do, that's just weird. I challenge you girls to think differently. To make that your goal, to run your race. Don't walk it, don't jog it, but run it! We are not going to be perfect. God says it in His word that we are not perfect. period. Never can be never will be. However, we can try our hardest not to sin. A lot of people get confused about what being a Christian is all about. They think you are just a perfect little-angel and that you don't sin anymore. WRONG! We still sin but we have a desire in us not to sin. To be more like Jesus. So use this and apply this to your life, don't just read it. I'm not saying this for no reason.

Love in Christ,
Jessica :-)