We pray that God will give you understanding of his judgment on sin and his desire to save all people. We pray that we all remember that God knows we are unworthy of his grace and mercy. However, we pray that you remember how God is always faithful to the promises he has made with man. God is good, holy, and true! We thank God that his desire is to save us.
DO THE PROPHETS BRING ONLY JUDGMENT?
Our God shows both justice and mercy. This means that he rightly decides what should happen to people as a result of their sin. This shows his justice. He also always makes a way for people to change their hearts and escape the punishment for their actions. This shows his mercy. God would have been right to kill Cain for the murder of his brother, but he didn’t. God has the right and power to destroy the earth by water, as Prophet Noah has shown us, but he doesn’t. God could have let the people in the plain of Shinar become so evil that they destroyed themselves, but he didn’t. Our God desires that we should find his way and follow it. Look at the words of the Prophet to the Hebrews:
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12.4-11, and the writer quotes Prophet Solomon, Proverbs 3.11-12
The Prophets of God submitted to him by telling us not only about God’s judgment, but also telling us of his mercy. We pray that you understand and fear the judgment of God, but live in the joy of his mercy as you seek to follow his Word.