When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭8‬-‭14
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Sand castles can be fun to build for kids or adults. My castles were never that ornate, but some of the ones you see these days are pretty amazing! A fun part of seeing castles was to knock them over for me. I always knew that they would be easy to knock over. The really ornate ones are also easy to knock over. At the core, the construction material is weak.

When I think about the final statement of the parallel verses in this passage and Psalm 103, God also realizes that we are made from weak material. We are not divine. We are not holy. We are not eternal. Yet he wants to have a relationship with us anyway. He made us, and so he understands how we are wired and what we are made of.

This includes our propensity to sin. God hates sin, but God loves us. And he has compassion on us when we sin. We see this played out clearly in Nineveh at this time. God loved the Ninevites, but he hated their sin. And so when they were repentive of their sin, he was gracious to them and did not destroy them.

When we understand just a part of the true magnitude of God‘s love, we realize it covers us. His desire is for a relationship with us, and he wants us to be like him: holy, blameless, and righteous.  He disciplines his children, and there are consequences for our actions, but he is always looking for a heart that turns to him.

Have you strayed away from God today? Have you given up meeting with his people? He will not relent in pursuing you, because he loves you. However, his justice is severe, and he will also let you make your own choices. I have gone my own way many times in the past. In the end, the success I saw was fleeting. A heart fully-surrendered to God is the only way I can be truly happy and fulfilled in life, and that means I don’t pick and choose which of his commands I obey. Instead, I trust him and obey, even if it is hard or I don’t fully understand why.

To fear God is to understand that he alone is sovereign and wise, and he understands the big picture of life. It is a commitment to place him first, his priorities first, even if they’re hard and involve suffering. The Ninevites did this to their credit. And they were rewarded by God, who forewent their punishment, and instead gave them his love and grace. And he does this for me as well.

Lord, thank you for the great lesson of how your heart works. You know how we are formed, you know that we’re fragile like a sand castle, and you love us still. Please clean me out from the inside, help me to radiate your compassion and grace to the lost world. So many need your love!