We Need God’s Mercy!

Fresh Manna
by Pastor Tim Burt

Deuteronomy 4:31 “For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore unto them”

I am not kidding when I say that I cannot remember a day gone by where I haven’t felt the need for God to have mercy on me. I remember this one day a few years ago. I found myself upset over something. I usually talk through things with Renee and instead I found myself venting and looking like I was angry at her. I wasn’t but to her it looked like I was. It’s at times like this I think, “Lord am I ever going to be at a place where I get things right? I know better than this.” At that point I needed God’s mercy and Renee’s mercy and forgiveness, and I needed to show mercy toward the situation I was upset about.

When I read from the Word of God and I worship the Lord and think of His Holiness, I always fall so short. I can understand at times like this why David said, “O Lord, what is man that you care for him…?” Psalm 144:3

God does love us and it’s a magnificent thing. It is a sad admittance on our part that His love and mercy often go unnoticed, is taken for granted, and too often unappreciated. It is even worse that many recipients of His love and mercy have ignored and even rejected Him. Even then His mercies are great toward us. Lamentations 3:22 says, “The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!”

King David, the most powerful man in His day, humbly requested and lived through the mercy of God in order that He would rule with a right heart before God.

Psalms 18:50 says, “Great deliverance gives he to his king; and shows mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his descendants forevermore.”

Psalms 21:7 says, “For the king trusts in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.”

The key to the success of all ongoing relationships is mercy – the same mercy that God has shown to us – especially when we know we did and do not deserve it. Lamentations 3:22 says, “The unfailing love of the Lord never ends!” By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction”

It is only because of God’s love and extension of His mercy to us that we are able to make it through life. If not for that, we would become victims of ourselves. We would end up bitter, jealous and envious of what others have, or what we don’t have. We’d end us fighting and living a life of strife. In James 3, he called this “… earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfishness, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.”

A heart without mercy is a blinded heart. When a heart has no mercy, it becomes prideful and arrogant and lies and accuses wanting to judge everyone and everything. A heart without mercy operates in devilish character often accusing others as though it had never done the same thing or something similar wrong.

Mercy is the key to seeing things with the compassion, understanding and wisdom of God – and it brings supernatural results. It comes from the heart of God. It comes through a heart that knows, admits, and meditates that it has been the recipient of His great mercy. It can defuse relational destruction in our life. It can transform hard relational situations to times of great healing and restoration.

A person with a heart of mercy puts themselves in the other person’s shoes. A heart of mercy tries to understand the position of where another is coming from. Even if the other person is wrong, the heart motivated by mercy works to forgive and help instead of desiring condemnation and banishment. When mercy hits the scene, anger and rage that would play over and over gives way to God’s presence.

Today’s Fresh Manna verse says, “For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore unto them.” We’ve all had times where we have done things that have deserved God’s wrath, not mercy. As David wrote, “Oh, do not hold us guilty for our former sins! Let your tenderhearted mercies quickly meet our needs, for we are brought low to the dust.” Psalm 79:8

God’s covenant with us is His love and mercy. His covenant is His supernatural help and the promise of His protection. It is the touch of His miracles. But, mercy is what keeps our heart and relationships clean and in the position of love so that we can forgive others as we have been forgiven. It keeps the pipelines of blessing clean and flowing. It is what makes relationships better and life greater to live!

Today, forgive by faith, have mercy on, and pray with heartfelt sincerity for the well being of someone you are struggling with. Your steadfast prayer and mercy will bring transformation to your heart and God on the scene in theirs!

In His Love,
Pastor Tim Burt