“The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him…” Daniel 9:9

Yesterday a group of moms and I gathered around the table and prayed. It is what we do on Thursday mornings. We have a word that describes our God and scripture to back it up. Mercy was the word of the day. I think it is such a beautiful and powerful word, don’t you? Who of us are in need of mercy today? I have my hand raised. The best part is that God is merciful and forgives each time we are in need. I continue to rebel and He continues to be full of mercy. It is almost too much to try and fit into my heart. I can hardly think of anything else.

As the Lord would have it when He wants to get my attention, mercy is everywhere today. I listened to a 45 second teaching clip from Paul David Tripp. He said, “Parenting is a mission of mercy.” The way he described it was that as parents our children need direction. Our hearts open to them and we help them. We show them mercy because they do not know the way. Sounds so much like our Heavenly Father. He is constantly leading if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Like our children, we tell them go this way and they forget or think they know a better way. Have we not done the same thing? Making up our own rules will never work. We do not know how we function best, but our Creator does. Our children need to be shown, not just told the way they should go. Therefore, it is imperative that we follow Him for they are following us.

Who of us as parents would say to one of our children that our mercy has runout for them? We had this much and they used it up. That is hard to imagine. If we belong to the Lord, because we have accepted Him as our Savior, then we have no fear in using up His mercy either. I do not know about you, but that sure takes the pressure to perform off of me. He can love me no less or no more than He already does. My response to such love is obedience and my heart in return. I can think of nothing else to give. He has all of me and I rest in His strong arms of mercy. It is a wonderful place to be as His child and calms the noise of this world.

His example of mercy also causes me to extend it to others. While I may not agree with someone, I can ask the Lord to help me show them mercy. Recently a decision was made to plant the seed of a lie into countless daughters minds. I contacted the people in charge, but they missed the point entirely. There was this panic to stop the evil, but I was not heard. What could I do? I prayed and asked the Lord what should be the next step. I waited and words came…”you have done all you can do. The choice is now on them and the consequences too.” As we prayed yesterday, I knew to ask the Lord to show them mercy. I prayed for these decision makers, the daughters that would be affected and the seeds that will be planted. I interceded on their behalf and now wait to see what will be the result.

How about you? Is there someone you need to extend mercy too? Is there someone you need to pray for mercy? Are you in need of mercy today? Friend, go to the Father who waits for you. He is ready and willing to give you that part of Himself. A life marked with mercy is quite a legacy. You never know who you will impact. May the Lord mark us with His mercy each and everyday. May it become part of our identity as well. Amen.