God’s Mercy

Webster defines mercy as a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. When our children are disobedient, sometimes we show them mercy. They deserve punishment, but we allow them to have another chance. God is the same way with us. Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Even as you are reading this blog, if you are not saved, I want you to know that even you experience the mercies of God every single day of your life.

People make the mistake of thinking that they can only accept Christ when they “have it all together.” The truth is, you can never have it all together without Christ. He is the one that keeps you together. When a person accepts Christ as their personal Savior, and they begin their new journey with Him, that journey turns into the process of maturing in Christ. They are still going to mess up and make mistakes. The only way we grow is by experiencing life and the test that it may bring. Test are inevitable, but we can rest assured that God will get us through all of them. Psalms 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” When we are tested there will be times when we fail and will have to take the test over. Instead of God becoming upset and tossing us to the side, He grants us mercy. There are plenty of people in the Bible who are examples of God’s mercy but let’s talk about Rahab.

Rahab was a harlot. She slept with men in exchange for money, yet she played one of the most important roles in the Israelites taking the city of Jericho. Joshua sent two spies into the city. Rehab recognized the spies. She knew of the miracles that God had performed for the Israelites, so she decided to help the two spies by hiding them in her house. She decided that the Israelites’ God would be her God and asked for her parents and her life to be spared. The spies agreed and told her to hang a scarlet rope outside her window, so when the attack happened, the soldiers would know they are not to kill the people that dwell there. God showed mercy on Rahab and her parents despite her past.

God loves us all. It does not matter what you have done or what you may be doing. That’s how good He is. Just like Rahab, you may be living a lifestyle that you feel God cannot deliver you from. Try him and see. When God begins to work on us, He starts working on the inside of us. He begins to work on our hearts and minds. God begins the deliverance of the emotional issues within us that must be dealt with so that Christ can make Himself at home in us, and so we can begin to bare His image. When you give your life to Christ, He happily accepts the responsibility for cleaning you up and making you whole. The work that he does on the inside begins to show outwardly. People start seeing outward change. You won’t have to say anything; people will notice the difference.

We should be grateful for the mercy that God shows us daily. We are not perfect, and we do not get everything right. Sometimes we chose to do wrong when we know better, but God still grants us mercy. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” If you ever had a question or doubt about God not accepting you in your current state, that verse alone should put all doubts to rest. God knew then that we would be the people that we are today. He knew then that you and I would have the issues and shortcomings that we have today. Yet He still loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. Don’t continue to ignore God’s call. He wants you to experience life in all its fullness, but He wants you to do it in Him. Thank God every day for the brand-new mercies that you experience. Be grateful for the opportunity He gives us to right the wrongs we may have done or start over where we may have gotten off track. Finally, let’s be grateful that God wipes our slates clean and gives us new beginnings with the mercy He shows us daily.