Daily Devotional

Here’s the stunning reality at the heart of the gospel: God never misinterprets us. He never rushes to wrong conclusions about our motives. He never makes false assumptions about our hearts. He knows us completely, perfectly, accurately.

And yet, how often do we misinterpret God?

When He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we expect, we assume He doesn’t care. When circumstances don’t unfold as we hoped, we question His goodness. When His timing doesn’t match ours, we doubt His sovereignty. When suffering comes, we wonder if He’s abandoned us.

We observe what God is doing (or not doing), and we interpret it through our limited human framework. We think we know what His actions mean. And often, we’re completely wrong.

But God is patient with our misunderstandings. He doesn’t abandon us when we wrongly interpret His love, His discipline, or His silence. He doesn’t go to war against us when we question His motives. Instead, He invites us to investigate, to seek understanding, to know Him more deeply.

“Search me, O God,” David prays in Psalm 139. But notice the context. David begins by acknowledging that God has already searched him and known him completely. God’s investigation of us is perfect and complete. He knows our thoughts before we think them, our words before we speak them, our hearts better than we know our own hearts.

And what does He find when He searches us? Sin. Rebellion. Misunderstanding. Waywardness. By all rights, He should destroy us, just as Israel was prepared to destroy the eastern tribes. But instead, He sent His Son to investigate, to bridge the gap, to explain the truth we couldn’t see.

Jesus is God’s Phinehas, sent not just to investigate but to reconcile. And what did Jesus discover? That our altar (our attempts at righteousness, our religious efforts, our good works) was never meant to replace Him but to point to Him. That our deepest need wasn’t condemnation but salvation. That the barrier between us and God could be removed not through destruction but through His own sacrifice.

The cross is God’s monument of understanding. It stands as a permanent witness that God is patient with our misunderstandings, gracious in our confusion, and willing to pay the ultimate price to bring us into right relationship with Him.

And now, as His children, we are called to extend that same patient grace to others. We investigate before we accuse because God investigated before He condemned. We seek understanding because God sought reconciliation. We assume love because God demonstrated love while we were still sinners.

The Joshua 22 principle isn’t just about better communication techniques or conflict resolution strategies. It’s about reflecting the very character of God, who knows us fully yet loves us completely, who understands us perfectly yet extends grace abundantly.

When you choose investigation over accusation in your marriage, you’re displaying the gospel. When you seek understanding before judgment, you’re reflecting God’s patient love. When you build monuments of grace from moments of misunderstanding, you’re testifying to the reconciling work of Christ.

God is sovereign. He is good. He is faithful. And He is working all things together for our good and His glory, even when we can’t see it, even when we misunderstand, even when we question.
So the next time you’re tempted to rush to judgment about someone you love, remember this: God knows you completely and loves you still. He understands your motives perfectly and extends grace anyway. He sees all your flaws and failures and sent His Son to die for you anyway.

Can you extend that same grace to your spouse? Can you investigate with patience? Can you seek understanding with love? Can you build monuments instead of walls?

The altar stands as a witness. The cross stands as a monument. And your next conversation can be a testimony to God’s reconciling, understanding, patient love.