#DailyDevotion Where Can You Find The LORD’s Kindness?
Psalm 31 6I hate those who worship worthless idols, but I trust the LORD. 7I rejoice and take delight in Your kindness — You see my misery and care about me in my troubles.
David hates those who worship worthless idols because the LORD hates those who worship worthless idols. The Law of Moses calls for their destruction. When we are unrepentant and don’t trust the LORD, He hates us too, for that is all we can experience of the LORD in that state. Even in the New Testament, Paul writes in Romans 14:23, “Anything that is not an act of faith is sin.” I know you want to say, “But God is Love.” That is true. God also is holy and righteous. His holiness and righteousness cannot tolerate sin. If you want to see how much God hates idolaters and sinners, just look at Jesus Christ on the Cross. That is how the LORD thinks and feels about those who sin. The crucifixion of Jesus is also a demonstration of His great love for us that He would send His only-begotten Son to experience in our place what our sins deserve so we wouldn’t.
That of course is a good reason to trust the LORD as David does. The sacrifice of the only-begotten Son is a demonstration of the kindness of the LORD we should delight in. The LORD saw our misery and troubles caused by our sins and He cared for us. He provided a remedy for us to escape the eternal wrath of God. Anytime you doubt God cares for you or isn’t kind towards you, look at Jesus Christ crucified. There you will see how much God cares for you and has been kind towards you.
8You haven’t surrendered me to the enemy, but You have set my feet in a place where I can move freely.
Indeed, the LORD has not surrendered us to the enemy. Our enemy is sin, death and the devil—an unholy trinity. He has set our feet in a place we can move about freely in the grace and love of God. Paul has written in Galatians 5:1, “Christ has freed us so that we’ll be free. Stand firm, then, and don’t get caught again under a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5, “13Christ paid the price to free us from the curse of the Law when He was cursed for us…” We need not walk in fear of the wrath of God. We don’t need to walk about in fear of the devil and all his works against us. We are the LORD’s. Through faith in the kindness and care of God our Father showed us on the cross of Christ, we walk about in our baptisms in the freedom of His grace, love, kindness, mercy and forgiveness. Should the devil try to entrap us with our sins through accusations, we can simply tell him he is correct, we are sinners, but we are forgiven sinners. Should we give in to sin, we need not wallow in our guilt and shame. We expose it to the light of Jesus Christ in all humility and find our forgiveness in His nail pierced hands and feet, the stripes on His back, the blood coming from His thorn pierce head and the wound from which flowed water and blood. Christ Jesus is the place we can move freely having been baptized into His suffering, death and resurrection.
O kind and merciful LORD, give us Your Holy Spirit that we may hate our sin and turn in faith towards You Son, Jesus Christ and in His wounds know your love, care and kindness towards us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.