A Trip to IKEA and More 😊 Open, Honest and to the Point

Psalm 86:15, But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

The word, Longsuffering means so much more than just patience.

It encompasses endurance, steadfastness, and forbearance.

And longsuffering is an attribute of God’s…

When David wrote this Psalm, he was going through a difficult time.

And when difficulties come into our life, we must remember two very important things.

First, remember the character of God and today’s verse describes the character of God.

That He is loving, gracious, extremely patient, full of mercy, and trustworthy.

The character of God is the bedrock of the Christian faith.

Second, remember the power of prayer. David did not pray in generalities. He asked God for four specific things in his time of trouble.

He asked for God’s presence, God’s mercy, God’s strength, and God’s deliverance.

Who could ever need more than that? No matter what kind of troubles we may face… God is always sufficient to meet our need.

I encourage you to read all of Psalm 86… because here you will find a man, who puts his faith in God while desperately crying out to Him.  

All in all, this psalm breaks down to about 15 requests.

In verses 1-7, you’ll read how David cries out in great need for God to hear and act on his behalf.

In verses 8-10, David gives Him praise and declares God as the only true God—the Lord of the nations.

In verses 11-13, David asks for God to teach him… that he may walk in His truth and unite his heart to fear God so that he can glorify Him forever.

And last, in verses 14-17, David appeals to God’s mercy and grace to deliver him.

This Psalm reveals a prayer that is open, honest, bold and to the point.

And that is the greatest point I desire to make in this devotion…

That prayer does not have to be some polite and simple conversation with God.

Real prayer is calling on God to be all that He is in every situation in your life. Never be afraid to look to Him and ask!

You see, the ultimate lesson and bigger picture that encompasses this psalm is, “Our great needs should drive us to pray to God, who alone can deliver us.”

God is the only one who has control over the world that we live in and no matter how hard we wish.

The Lord is the only one who can really provide us with the strength and hope we need. God is the key to everything.

And to help bring clarity: The word, “longsuffering”, is speaking of a quality of self-restraint in the face of provocation which does not promptly punish; it is the opposite of anger, and is closely associated with mercy.

Longsuffering is an attribute of God’s and only God can be completely longsuffering…

And yet, we’re told that longsuffering is a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22

You see, longsuffering emphasizes the attitude or the frame of mind we are to have during difficult times.

And it’s only through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to develop longsuffering… the longsuffering that no circumstance can destroy…

And the patience that no person can defeat

Psalm 86 is a prayer in which David gives glory to God.

He praises Him in humble and reverent adoration.

Throughout everything he is going through he never takes away from God’s greatness or God’s infinite goodness.