Our Gracious God

God has invited us to be captivated by the greatness of His character and what we believe about God has the greatest potential to shape our suffering. Although we will never be able to thoroughly grasp the fullness of His glory on this side of eternity, He has given us glimpses of His glory in the revelation of His Word. In this series, we will dive into ten attributes of God and discover what hope they offer us in our sorrow and how knowing and believing these truths about who God is can provide great comfort in the midst of grief.

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If you grew up going to church and call Jesus your friend, or have little or no knowledge of God as a being who is interested in your life, when you lose a child it is easy to question God. I did! I questioned how losing my son was something a loving God, who supposedly only wanted what was best for me, allowed my son to die. At an early age, I entrusted God with my life and had walked through difficult situations knowing He was leading, directing, and comforting me. 

But losing a child! I had to really lean in and trust what I knew about God. One thing that carried me through those dark days after burying my son was that God was a gracious God. 

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Psalm 86:15

God showed His grace to us as sinners by sending His son to die on the cross for us so we can live eternally. God graciously intervened on our behalf from an eternal perspective. And that intervention allows us to have the hope of holding our dear children again. 

And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnations, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.  Romans 5:16 (NLT)

A secular definition of gracious is “courteous and kind.” I know God is courteous and kind. It is His character. Even when things are difficult in this world, God is kind to us. He was kind to me after losing Zach at 37 weeks in the way he met me in the hard, lonely days. He spoke to me through a Bible verse or a song and reminded me that He saw me in my pain and He loved me. 

He was kind to me when I was mad, unbelieving, or fearful. As I told Him how I felt, He always, always—through the Holy Spirit—gently reminded me that He was faithful. 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

We can approach God, who sits on the throne—in heaven and in our hearts. Approaching God might look like weeping and crying out in anguish. It might look like telling Him we are mad, scared, hurt, lonely, hopeless, or anxious. It might look like telling Him we don’t know if He sees us or loves us. It might look like telling Him we aren’t sure we believe in Him anymore. Whatever approaching God looks like in your grief, He always offers His mercy and grace. 

God isn’t shocked by our emotions. He knows how we feel and extends grace when we need it the most. 

Dear Hope Mom, lean on the Lord in your time of grief. Let Him take the hurt, sorrow, and fear. Let Him extend His mighty grace and mercy to you. God isn’t a faraway God. He sent Jesus to earth to redeem us. He gives us His Holy Spirit to comfort us. He is courteous and kind—and gracious! 

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous: Our God is merciful.
Psalm 116:5

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Shelly D. Templin is an author, speaker and blogger that shares a message of hope—with humor. She has three daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. Shelly lives in Texas with her husband, Jack, of 29 years and their two dogs.

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