“I look up into the night sky, I see all the stars in heaven, I wonder if they are watching us, seeing with a peaceful eye. How long O Lord must we wait, how long O Lord must we stare out into the empty blackness wondering when our judgment will come. O God, Creator of the Earth and of the Heaven, of all the angels, and saints, have mercy upon us.” (Brian, 2009)
I would like to think that every single human being who ever lived prayed a prayer such as this one at some moment in their life. I would like to think that our trials and tribulations are really not that different. I would like to believe that everyone in this world realizes that we need Gods divine mercy. Sometimes this hope of mine is out of the longing to identify, and to be identified with my fellow mortals. Then other times these hopes and aspirations are rooted in shier selfishness, as I do not want to be the only one being tested by God in such ways. I say that because we sin, because we are born sinners, all of use will wither away and die, turn to dust, and we all whether we like it or not, need desperately Gods divine mercy.
“22Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.” (Lamentations 3:22, NKJV)
This week I would like to describe why we should ask for Gods mercy, why it is important. But moreover I think it also important to illustrate for how long has God really been merciful with us. Each and everyone of us needs Gods mercy, from the lowliest of people, to the highest of Angel. There is no one who is as perfect and as righteous as God. With this knowledge comes the feelings of inadequacy, depression, the feelings of not being good enough. The mortal mind is left asking over and over again, “How could we ever measure up to God?” The truth is I am glade we can never measure up to God, I am glade he made us imperfect, gives us these trials and tribulations, because that makes me come closer, want more, ask for more of His divine mercy. It might sound crazy, but I am not alone in this feeling, for even King David felt this way, let us not forget his profound words;
“1Have mercy upon me, O God, According to your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:1-2, NKJV)
“8The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8, NKJV)
“12I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. 13For great is Your mercy toward me, And you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” (Psalm 86:12-13, NKJV)
There is no denying it, David begged God for mercy, he asked for mercy, he thanked God for showing him mercy. David wrote lamitations in honor of Gods divine mercy. But King David was not alone in this celebration of receiving Gods mercy, In fact God came down from heaven to proclaim his name to Moses, as Mercy.
“5Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6And the Lord passed before him and proclaiming, “The Lord , the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, 7keeping mercy for thousands , forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:5-7, NKJV)
Gods divine mercy is written into His very character, and in His nature. It is through His overwhelming love and compassion He has for us, His children, that He does not punish us, as we so rightfully deserve. Moses was always asking God to have mercy on his people, asking God to forgive them each time they sinned against God. You can hear the frustration in Moses’s voice each time he made the long arduous journey up the mountain to intercede for them. The most amazing thing is that God did show Moses mercy, the people mercy, as he still does for us today. God for thousands of years has shown mankind mercy. This word; “Mercy”, God has placed so much of his divine wisdom upon it that it is easily the second most powerful word, under that of Love, forever linking them into the same Godly nature. This truth has been proven over and over again throughout the Bible, and in doing so, has shown that our God, the God of Adam, Moses, David, and Jesus, New and Old Testament alike, has indeed spent vast amounts of energy proving to all of us that He is truly merciful.
King David knew Gods mercy, as did Moses, but neither of these two men where ever put directly into the path of Gods fury, as like Job. Test after test, after test, God allowed Satan to take things away from Job, and Job remained in favor of God. Gods mercy in the end was poured out upon Job in ways that would, and did baffle the human imagination.
“12Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13He also had seven sons and three daughters.” (Job 42:12-13, NKJV)
This giving nature also reveals Gods mercy, as what was taken was given back, but not just one for one, but in the thousands to one. Gods divine mercy is so perfect, and longsuffering that God departed this merciful nature unto mankind within his only son Jesus. The amount of energy and due diligence God placed within that one single act, and then as to drive home the point Jesus’s message, like Gods, was that of mercy;
Q12 “Happy are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see the face of God. Fortunate are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (also see; Matthew 5:7-9)
As a matter of record, God delivered Jesus up to be crucified to vanquish our sins, the ultimate act of mercy unto a world filled to the brim with sin, and sinners. Love, compassion, and yes mercy is all the predominate characteristics of our God, as He had so proclaimed to Moses. I also would like to mention for the record, that as Moses had prayed for mercy for his people, an act which exhibited his selfless nature in line with Gods, that this was but a common theme in line with Jesus’s character as well. This is important because Jesus came to deliver the New Covenant with man, as Moses had delivered the old one, these teaching of Jesus are a command that we, in current times are to follow:
“35But love your enemies, do good , and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. 36Therefore be merciful , just as your Father also is merciful.” (Luke 6:35-36, NKJV)
So I like to think God hears our cry’s for mercy, he responds to them, and understands them. He tests us and then in the end shows us mercy, kindness, and love. The very nature of God is proven through His thousands of ye
ars of patience, His ability to wait, His mercy in not delivering our punishment so soon, being slow to wrath. Indeed God is a just, and righteous Father, and everlasting, longsuffering, merciful God. This is also the same God who wants to have an active relationship with us all, each and everyone, without discrimination, prejudice, or bias. For God has his hand outstretched, ready, willing, and able to lift you up into the most perfect, merciful relationship you have ever known.That in-and-of-itself is both a miracle, and a testament of our Lord, our God, it is also, in reality His divine gift, His proof of His sincerity in delivering everlasting mercy.
Amen,
May peace be with you all the days of your life. If you have been moved by this blog I invite you to become a follower, and learn to Listen Faithfully to our Lord Jesus Christ.