It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness. ~Lamentations 3:22-23 (AMP)
The word consumed means to deplete, to exhaust or to drain. Scripture teaches we don’t have to live depleted, exhausted, or drained because of Gods great compassion towards us. He sees us in our frailty. In Psalm 103:14 we are told “For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust.” (NLT) Taken out of context we could build a doctrine around this scripture that conveyed hopelessness and unfortunately many people have. We could wallow in the fact we are mere humans with no abilities or strength to change our situations, but that is not what the Lord is conveying in the 103rd Psalm. Before we are told God sees our weakness, we are told in Psalm 103:6-13 “God makes everything come out right; He puts victims back on their feet. He showed Moses how He went about His work, opened up His plans to all Israel. God is sheer mercy and grace; not easily angered, He’s rich in love. He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, not hold grudges forever. He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, no r pays us back in full for our wrong doings. As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love for those who fear Him. As far as sunrise is from sunset, He has separated us from our sins. As parents feel for their children, God feels for those who fear Him…” (MSG) Praise Jesus God has made provision for our weaknesses and frailties and doesn't hold them against us!
Aren’t you thankful for God’s abundant mercy? It is new every morning. Just knowing that God has compassion on us and forgives us when we sin helps us to be merciful to others. To be merciful means forgiving others even when they don’t deserve it and good relationships are not possible if we don’t show a lot of mercy to others. Jesus said that we are to love our enemies unconditionally and be kind to them. In this way we show ourselves to be like our Father in heaven, for He is merciful and kind. It might not feel right to let people “off the hook” so to speak when it comes to disappointments and what we might consider the unforgivable. But God knows best, and the truth is that living outside of unconditional love is a burden and that burden is way too heavy for us to carry. Jesus said we are to come to Him when we are burdened with the pressures of life and when we are carrying a load we cannot handle. He said we are to take His burden because it is light. He doesn't let Himself get weighed down with negative thoughts and neither should we! The Lord says stick with thinking on what is lovely and pure and of good report. Although it goes against the grain sometimes, loving others is much easier than carrying a grudge. Initially, mercy is the last grace we want to extend when we have been mistreated, but scripture confirms that it is the only way to go if we want to have peace and live the abundant life God has planned for us. The bible teaches God’s mercies are new every morning. Receive that and then perpetuate it. We should see every morning as a fresh start and a new beginning and give others that same grace! When you wake up in the morning remember God has forgiven all your sins and wants to not only extend you His mercy, but His favor. Go extend that mercy and goodwill to others and you will be acting just like your heavenly Father!
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. ~Acts 26:17-18 (NIV)
Who are you struggling to extend mercy too?
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