“But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (Psalm 86:15 NIV)

Compassion: concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others. It includes pity, sympathy, empathy, fellow feeling, care, sensitivity, warmth, love, tenderness, mercy, leniency, tolerance, kindness, and charity.

Five important truths about God

It’s amazing to me how many people perceive God as angry and disconnected from humanity. Nothing could be further from the truth! According to this verse, we learn five wonderful truths about Him:

1.     He is compassionate

2.     He is gracious

3.     He is slow to anger

4.     He is abounding in love

5.     He is abounding in faithfulness

Therefore

Because God is compassionate, gracious, patient, loving, and faithful, we can come to Him with complete confidence—no matter our failures, fears, or weaknesses. And having received His compassion, we should freely extend that same compassion to others.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NIV)

He’s always with you!

God is always present, whether you sense Him or not! This verse declares that He is “ever-present.” No matter where you go, He is there with you. And no matter what you're going through, He is fully aware of it. So, do not fear! Claim this promise and turn to Him right away whenever trouble arises. He will strengthen and help you!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

And it’s all because of God’s wonderful love for you! The following verse says it best:

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39 NLT)

“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.”  (Deut. 7:9 NIV)

God Is Faithful—Always!

People will fail you sometimes. It’s part of human nature. If we’re not careful, those disappointments can make us wonder if God might let us down too. But He won’t—ever. God cannot fail because He is God, and His faithfulness is perfect and unchanging. He is always 100% true to His Word.

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim. 2:13 ESV)

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Num. 23:19 ESV)

All God’s work is done in faithfulness 

“For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” (Psalm 33:4 ESV)

His faithfulness establishes and guards you 

“But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.” (2 Thess. 3:3 ESV)

His faithfulness protects you in temptation 

“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 Cor. 10:13 ESV)

His faithfulness brings steadfast love and mercies—new every morning 

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22-23 ESV)

Therefore

Great is Your faithfulness, Lord! No matter what we face today, we can trust that You remain perfectly faithful.

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5)

We often say it: God is good all the time; all the time God is good. That isn’t just a comforting slogan—it is a foundational truth about who God is.

God is the very embodiment of perfect goodness

He is kind, benevolent, faithful, and full of goodwill toward His creation. He does not merely do good things—He is good.

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Psalm 34:8)

God invites us not just to know about His goodness, but to experience it

“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (1 Chron. 16:34)

His goodness is not temporary. It is constant and enduring

“For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

God’s goodness never runs out, never wears down, and never changes with circumstances.

Every good thing comes from Him

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

If something truly good has entered your life, it ultimately came from Him.

God’s goodness is our refuge

“The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him.” (Nahum 1:7)

Even in hard days, God’s goodness does not disappear. It becomes our shelter

“Good and upright is the LORD; therefore He teaches sinners in the way.” (Psalm 25:8)

His goodness is not only kind—it is redemptive

He uses it to lead us, teach us, and restore us.

Therefore

Because God is always good, we can trust Him even when life is not. We can thank Him in every season, run to Him in every trouble, and rest in Him with confidence—knowing that everything He does flows from a heart that is perfectly, unchangingly good.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.” (Eph. 2:4 NIV)

Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown to someone who deserves punishment. It is kindness when judgment would be justified. It is God holding back what we do deserve because of His great love.

We serve a powerful and merciful God. He knows we have all fallen short of His glory—and yet He does not turn away from us. Instead, He reaches toward us with forgiveness, patience, and tender compassion.

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.” (Psalm 86:5 NKJV)

Come boldly to receive mercy

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 NKJV)

God does not tell us to come crawling in fear—He invites us to come boldly, because His throne is not just a throne of power, but a throne of grace and mercy.

Mercy gives us new life and living hope

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3 NKJV)

Because of His mercy, we are not only forgiven—we are made new and given a living hope.

Therefore

Because God is rich in mercy, we never need to hide from Him in shame. We can run to Him in repentance, confidence, and trust—knowing He delights to forgive, restore, and give us new beginnings.

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam. 3:22–23 ESV)

“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11 NIV)

Grace is God’s unmerited favor—His kindness and blessing given to us, not because we deserve it, but because He is good. We did nothing to earn it and could never work for it. Grace is God’s mercy in action, shown most clearly when He sent His Son to die on the cross to rescue sinners and give us eternal life.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Eph. 1:7 NIV)

Grace is received by faith

“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe… all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:22–24 NIV)

Grace cannot be earned. It is received—by trusting in Jesus Christ alone.

You are saved by grace

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9 NIV)

Salvation is a gift, not a reward. Even our good works come after we are saved, not before.

Grace came through Jesus

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17 NIV)

The law shows us our need. Jesus brings us grace.

Grace brings the gift of righteousness

“How much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13–14 ESV)

Jesus is full of grace and truth

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 NIV)

His Word is truth

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17 NIV)

We are brought forth by the word of truth

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” (James 1:18 ESV)

Therefore

Because Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, we can walk with confidence, stand on God’s Word without compromise, and live with assurance—knowing we are saved, sealed, and secure in Him.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13 NIV)

If we focus on all the scary and alarming things happening in the world instead of on the Word of God, it can cause us to lose heart. But God has not left us without hope. He has given us His promises—and His promises point us to a glorious future.

This world is temporary

No matter how unstable or troubling things may look, God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells. That is the future He has prepared for those who trust Him. We are just passing through here—our best days are still ahead.

God’s plans for us have always been good:

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jer. 29:11 NIV)

Therefore

Don’t let today’s troubles steal tomorrow’s hope. Keep your eyes on God’s promises and live with confidence, knowing that He has a great future planned for you.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.” (Prov. 16:20 NIV)

The Bible is the best instruction book ever written, and it covers everything we need in order to live wisely and prosper in any situation.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5–6)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer. 17:7–8)

Whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe (Prov. 29:25)

Therefore

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” (Psalm 91:1-2)