PSALM 103:13-14 – As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

THEME OF THE DAY. HE UNDERSTANDS. Today’s scripture is a portion of one of those Psalms believers must run to and hide when they see their many failings, their many sins, and hear the many voices of condemnation from their conscience and the devil. It is a place of refuge from the gale-force winds of the harsh accusations from Satan and conscience. It is a source of comfort and encouragement. And should I be tasked to title this wonderful heart-healing Psalm in two words, I will have already accomplished the task in today’s nugget theme – He understands.

In the difficulties of living the Christian life, we need a God who understands us; through and through – a God who identifies with us. And that is what makes Christmas so special. Not simply because God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). There is more to Christmas than a forgiving Savior given. We have our God coming into the human experience to understand the human experience, and it is an understanding that is full of grace and truth – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). The letter to the Hebrews shows us more of this grace and truth as it is in Jesus; grace and truth that knows exactly what we go through in life, but without sin – Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:14-15). And the fact of God becoming a man and understanding us provides great comfort in two ways. Let’s consider them.

First, since Jesus became a man and understands our weaknesses toward being tempted, He is able to give us strength to overcome every temptation coming our way – No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Our Lord knows the power of temptation, not because He is omniscient, but because He encountered it (Matthew 4:1-11). And nothing makes a person more compassionate toward people going through a difficulty than the person who has gone through the same thing. That is our Savior. He understands and knows how to give us strength for every situation we encounter because He was there.

Another comfort of Jesus understanding our weaknesses is He loves us anyway. Wow! Think about this. God knows what we have done, how we fail Him daily, and will fail Him tomorrow, yet, He never says, “Enough. My patience is done. You just aren’t getting it. I am moving on from you.” Not at all. He understands everything about us past, present and future and declares, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3b). Here is our anchor when the storms of accusations and condemnations seek to cause us to doubt God’s love. We simply rely on the truth He understands us and loves us anyway, and that will never change. Let such truth build confidence in our walks with the Lord. He really does understand us and despite what we may see of ourselves, He sees Himself in us – always; righteous, perfect, and being daily conformed more into His image.

PRAYER: “Father, thank You for not only knowing my weakness and wanderings from You, but loving me despite them.”

QUOTE: “Ask God to let you see yourself as He does and then bask in the confidence this truth of His love gives you.”