Mercy in the Messiness

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)

Recently, I was reading through the story of Abraham and Sarah, specifically around God promising Abraham a multitude of descendants starting in Genesis 15. God promised Abram he would have descendants. Sarai tried to work this out on her own by giving Hagar to Abram to have children. Hagar gets pregnant and starts treating Sarai with disrespect. Sarai blames Abram. Abram tells Sarai to solve her own problems and doesn’t lead the family. Sarai is abusive to Hagar. Hagar runs away.

All of this chaos and all of this messiness caused by the actions and behaviors of God’s people. What struck me as I read though this was not so much what they were doing but what God didn’t do.

God didn’t tell them they messed up. He didn’t make them feel less than (they were actually doing that fine on their own.) He didn’t throw his hands up in disgust and walk away. He stayed.

He stayed. He let the consequences of their bad decisions play out and he showed up in the mess they had created.

So often we think we have to have all the answers. We think we have to present a picture perfect person to God so he can work in us and we can do what we are called to do. But that is not true. All we have to do is come as we are (messiness and all) and give God a heart that is willing. That’s it. Be willing.

It’s so simple yet we make it so complicated. And sadly, when we stay away because we don’t think we are good enough, only Satan wins. God’s message is always love and mercy. We are already given life by the grace so freely offered to all mankind from the beginning until Jesus comes. What’s preventing you from coming to Jesus now? Stop listening to the lies. Jesus has got you covered.

Different Day - Different Mercy

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3;22-23 (ESV)

As we enter into the Thanksgiving season, I’ve been thinking of things I am thankful for. One of them is relayed in this text.

Think about it. God’s mercies are new every morning. This word chadash is defined as new, new thing, fresh. I personally am really happy about this. Some mornings, I need mercies because I am grumpy and not being considerate of other people. Some mornings, I am way too busy and distracted and don’t do what God is asking me to do. Other days, I am worrying and not trusting God for things I know he is going to handle (because he promises he will.)

Each day when I open my eyes, I will need a new, fresh, different mercy than I did the day before. Each day, I will need to be forgiven differently than previous days (or even hours.) Great is his faithfulness.

Every moment of every day we receive his mercy. We receive his unconditional love and his grace. We don’t deserve it. We can’t earn it. It is a gift.  

This stretches my mind and leans heavily into my heart. It produces gratitude and love. This is definitely something for which I give thanks.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Don't Discount God

Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” Luke 1:18 (NLT)

The angel came and told Zechariah that God has heard his prayers and his wife was going to have a son. Zechariah’s first response was basically to say “Look, we are old. How do I know what you said will happen will actually happen?”

Later in Luke 1, an angel appeared to Mary. He told her that she would become pregnant even though she was not married. Mary, like Zechariah, was also confused. Her question though was a little different. Mary pointed out that she was a virgin and asked how she could be pregnant.

So why was Zechariah left unable to speak until his son was born and Mary was encouraged?

The questions of both were a little different. Zechariah questioned God and what he said would come to pass. Mary’s question was more sorting through in her mind what was necessary to become pregnant knowing she had not participated in that.

God doesn’t mind our questions. He says that we should come to him, reason with him and he will share with us. What I think he minded with Zechariah is that Zechariah doubted what he could do. Zechariah was questioning God’s ability to make Elizabeth get pregnant even in her old age. He was allowing humanness to trump God’s ability. I guess, in a way it was a lack of faith.

I wish I could sit here and say that I follow more in Mary’s footsteps than Zechariah’s but I am not sure I think that is true. God promises a lot of things in his Word and still I doubt. I want to be more like Mary and respond with “I am your servant. May everything you said come true” and trust in those promises.

Zechariah was unable to speak for a time as a reminder of who God was. And Praise The Lord! God didn’t give up on Zechariah and he won’t give up on us either!

Monday, Feb 27

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 (NLT)

You know why I like this verse? I like it because it says Jesus saved us not because of anything good we’ve done but because of his mercy. Mercy here is defined as “kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them.” I love that definition because some days we feel like we are miserable and afflicted. Some days (or weeks or months or years) it takes a lot of courage and energy to pick yourself up and keep moving. And some days we need a lot of help. It’s on those days that this promise is one to hold on to. You see, no matter what’s happening here, we always have ‘when we get there’ to look forward to. The promise of “it’s already done” gives us hope for tomorrow.   

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)