Lord, Have Mercy!
I’ve heard people say “Lorrrd, have mercy!” as a quick retort when yet another “I can’t believe it” circumstance happens. In reality, that is what we should say, rather pray, anytime we encounter a roadblock, a rock landslide, “rocked my world” or rock crazy situations going on in our world. God is our ROCK in all of life’s ups and downs and His DIVINE MERCY is at our beckoned call when tough times come or when we are the ones who made a huge mistake and created the tough times.
DIVINE MERCY: 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 and 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, one of David’s most honorable soldiers killed. God forgiving him, was truly Divine Mercy.
Yesterday was Divine Mercy Sunday and my assurance of God’s divine mercy was reinforced. Divine Mercy Sunday is a time that is specifically dedicated to the great gift of the Lord’s mercy and love. 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, and every time we forgive another or someone forgives us. Mercy should be a part of the life of every Christian as sometimes we hurt others and sometimes 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 Divine Mercy. Think of the mercy of God and Paul. We know Paul was a great evangelizer and wrote much of the New Testament. He led many to Christ, but think about his past. Before his conversion to Christ, he arrested, tortured and killed Christians. That was his job! (If you haven’t seen the new movie “Paul, the Apostle of Christ”, you really should. These words will come to life when you see it.) Paul was paid to gather up those who followed Christ. He participated in the killing of Stephen, the first martyr. He did that a lot. But God showed him mercy and with Paul’s cooperation, Paul became one of the great saints of the church.
What could be worse than being a Roman soldier who helped facilitate the crucifixion of Jesus? Longinus was that solider, but during the last hours of Jesus’ life He recognized Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus showed Longinus mercy and he, too, became a saint.
Perhaps you know someone who represents a living saint to you — someone who turned from a life of self destruction or a hard-stoned criminal whose life was turned around because of God’s Divine Mercy. Maybe that is you. None of us need to be defined by our past because Divine Mercy is open to us all. 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 His love! The mercy of God is the power of the resurrection still working today. You are not your 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.
Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.”