Isaiah 30:18
But the Lord is eager to be gracious to you. He waits on high to have mercy on you, for the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who long for him.
Dear Heavenly Father,
These words that Isaiah penned for us demonstrate what your desire is for mankind—you are eager to be gracious to us. I could not imagine what it must be like for you to want to give your love and mercy out to a people who, by nature, want anything other than your gifts. You wait on high to shower your mercy on us; Isaiah told us, “You are a God of justice.” We chose ourselves over others because of our sinful natures; we prefer ourselves over you and do everything to satisfy our selfishness, whatever feeds our desires. Our love is imperfect, never wholly filling all our needs, so we are always looking for more. You intended love to go from us to you and others, not to be focused on ourselves. Because we do not love you or others the way you had designed, and since you are just, you should destroy us forever. However, you sent your Son demonstrating your love and mercy to us, loving us with your perfect love. He took our places in the punishment for our sins, and your justice was given to him. It has already been administered, and we have been credited with Jesus’ perfection. Lord, your Holy Spirit has created faith in us to believe and trust your love for us is genuine; now we long for you and the day we will be with you in paradise. Amen.
Roger Emmons
Nothing in us can add to God’s perfect love for us; otherwise, anything we add contains selfishness and flaws.