Go to the Source

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy . . . He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:8, 10–12

Psalm 103 is one of my favorite psalms of David, a beautiful psalm that describes who and what God really is—a gracious and merciful Savior. Believing right begins with what you believe about God and must be based on the solid foundation of God’s Word.

To know the truth about who and what God is, we can’t go by feelings, circumstances, human conjectures, or what we may have heard someone say about God. We have to go to the source!

If you heard a rumor that someone you knew was saying horrible and negative things about you, don’t believe it immediately. Go to the source first. Ask this person if this is what he or she really said or if this is what he or she really meant.

Many people allow precious friendships and relationships to become fractured because they believe the rumors. They become bitter, angry, and disappointed without ever verifying with the person if he or she had actually said those nasty things.

In the same way, in the world we live in, there are all kinds of wrong beliefs perpetuated about God: “God is angry at you.” “He is disappointed with you.” “God is allowing all these negative things to happen to you because He’s punishing you for your past sins.”

Please do NOT believe all this baseless gossip about God! Such impressions of God have damaged many people’s relationships with Him, and they live with a distorted perspective of who God really is.

Instead of receiving His love, grace, and forgiveness, they become afraid, distant, and fearful of Him. Instead of allowing Jesus to come into their situations, they live their lives running away, avoiding, and hiding from Him.

Come on, let’s honor God and go to the source. Look again at what the Bible says about Him in today’s scripture reading: He is “slow to anger, and abounding in mercy . . . as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” This is our God! This is why you can always run to Him and believe that you can freely receive His help!

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.