Lord, Have Mercy
As sure as the sun rising in the east is me saying those words when I’ve broken something, said something I shouldn’t have, heard about devastation or someone’s plight. Those are my “go to” words without even thinking. I say those words often – particularly when I don’t have adequate words to say otherwise. “Lorrrd, have mercy!” It is a quick retort when yet another “I can’t believe it” circumstance happens. But the truth is – those are exactly the words that should come out when we encounter a “rough patch” on our road of life. God’s mercy is at our beckoned call when tough times come.
God’s mercy was given in His covenant as He promised protection, provision, guidance, and His constant presence to His children. Because God is the initiator, the mercy He gives is gracious, unmerited, undeserved, is compassionate, leads to forgiveness, and to the steadfast love that God sustains in our relationship with Him. In Psalm 51:1-2, David cried out, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions…” A plea to God for mercy is asking Him to withhold the judgment we deserve and instead grant to us the forgiveness we, in no way, have earned. David encountered that mercy after he had relations with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. God forgiving him, was truly Divine Mercy.
We are NOT our past and God’s mercy is real and available. Of course, we celebrate His mercy every time we cry out to Him for mercy when we have failed Him, every time we forgive someone, or someone forgives us. Mercy should be our mode of operation when we hurt others and when others hurt us. “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” Matthew 5:7
When God forgives us, His ocean of mercy washes over us to wash us clean – through and through. That is His Divine Mercy. The apostle Paul is a great example of someone receiving God’s Divine Mercy. We know he became a great evangelizer and wrote much of the New Testament. He led many to Christ, but what a past he had. Before his conversion to Christ, he arrested, tortured, and killed Christians. That was his job! He participated in the killing of Stephen, the first martyr. But God showed him mercy and he became one of the great saints of the church.
Whoever we are – whatever we’ve done — whether our sins are small or great, the mercy of God is available to all of us. The mercy of God is real! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You and I are not our past. Believe in it! Embrace it! God’s Divine Mercy forgives, forgets, and even forges the way to becoming all God destined for us in the first place. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Lamentations 3:22-23