God, have mercy. Please, Lord.
That was my hopelessly uttered prayer the other night. More of a wishful thought, unfortunately. I didn’t actually expect that mercy or grace could penetrate my already deflated attitude and situation. Those words, really, were more of a groan of frustration.
And then the words from the song on my iPod:
Never fails. So the mercy I sought was already there in the moment. Constant. The question of God’s mercy being present or not–is not a question at all. The certainty of God’s mercy spans all our circumstances.
The question, then, was where? Where is the mercy? Where is the grace? Where is the joy? We must become seekers of what we know to be present. Seekers, not doubters. Not wishers of God’s mercy.
Jesus came–Emmanuel, God with us–so that we may be knowers of God. That we might know that we know that we know. He is here. His mercy won’t fail because He is God, with us. All that God is–the fullness of his character–is wrapped up in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. There for the taking. Actually, for the surrendering. Will you come?
This is mercy. Not that we deserved to hold the Christ child in our sinful arms, but that we get to kneel before the Christ child and find all that we need. God cannot hold back his mercy from those who call on the name of Jesus. He cannot go against his promise of the abundant life He’s made available in Christ Jesus.
Next time you utter, “God have mercy,” know that He is. Present tense. He is having mercy right now by giving you his unending presence, unhindered access to the throne room. There is no situation too thick with sin that his mercy cannot penetrate. No pain too intense for his mercy to heal. No night to dark in which his mercy can’t shine.
Seek it, and you will find it. Jesus, the yes and amen.
