April 8, 2026 Devo

I had a friend who told me about a time when he got punished by his father for something he didn’t do. Something at the house got damaged, and it was his sister who did it. She was, of course, conveniently missing when their father discovered it. In a rage of fury, the father whipped his son, even though he repeatedly denied that he had anything to do with it. When his sister came home, she confessed that she was the one who did the damage. My friend said his father looked at him, and instead of apologizing for the unfair punishment, he said, “Well, consider that whipping for something else I don’t know about.” Nice guy.
Contrast that to our Heavenly Father. A Father who is certainly just and does not wink at our sin, but one who is also compassionate and gracious. Having been taken into exile for their disobedience to God, the Lord doesn’t abandon them. As He prepares them to return to Jerusalem, He tells Isaiah to speak “comfort” to them. God knows that they have been broken. He knows that their suffering has been great. In fact, the way He refers to them being punished “twice over” for their sins tells us that God was empathetic to them. He has no desire to see them suffer any longer, but wants to comfort, heal, and restore them.
That’s God’s heart for us. When we suffer from the consequences of poor choices, bad decisions, and outright sins, God has no desire to punish us further. He is not a God who delights in our suffering. He is not a father who rubs salt in the wound of our shame by telling us we’re getting exactly what we deserve. Instead, He is the Father who longs for our awakening and waits in anticipation for our returning home. And when that time comes, He runs to meet us with joy, comfort, and healing. That’s the heart of our God.
If you find yourself in the land of bad decisions, come home. If you look around today and realize that you are a long way from the person you want to be, come home. If your head and heart are heavy with shame today, come home. God will respond to your repentance with love, grace, and restoration. God’s heart is always FOR you and not against you. His arms of comfort are always open for YOU. That’s God’s Word for you today.