Walking in Grace & Mercy Out of Stuff, Struggles, & SinSample

Mercy...

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end… Lamentations 3:22

Now, let’s meet grace’s twin sister, mercy.

The Old Testament Hebrew word chesed and the Greek New Testament word eleos – both used for mercy – are similarly defined and translated in our English Bibles as kindness, mercy, loving-kindness, unfailing love, tenderness, and faithfulness. Mercy is similar to grace yet has the addition of pity, compassion, forgiveness, and clemency for wrongdoing.

God always desires more for us. He not only mercifully forgives our sin, but He also wants to deliver us from our ongoing struggles by His divine intervention. I don’t know about you, but I need a whole lot of divine intervention!

The trouble is, we want God to throw some pixie dust our way or wave a magic wand. Presto-chango! We want to be instantly free from our life’s encumbrances that keep us from much of the abundance He promises (Hebrews 12:1, John 10:10). Nevertheless, there are crucial issues of our surrendering to Him completely, learning to battle the enemy effectively in His Name, and securing fought-for freedom with His help so that we don’t ever want to travel these unhealthy paths again.

His deliverance usually does come in a moment (Luke 4:41), yet our walking out in the freedom He has secured for us is where we experience struggle (Matthew 12:43-45) and where we need His grace and mercy most. We are complex beings who have lived so long in strongholds of shame, habits, or addictions that breaking the pattern of unhealthy behavior can seem daunting. Nevertheless, He can unravel every knot in our souls and lives that have tripped us for years (1 John 3:8).

Ultimately, the Holy Spirit is after a deep and thorough work of healing and deliverance in our lives for His glory and our benefit. He just loves us so very much! Walking continually in more significant freedom frees us to enjoy our Father and allow Him greater access to pour His Holy Spirit through us to reach a dying and weary world.

The Lord’s grace and mercy come to our rescue and afford Him and us the ability and time it takes so that total freedom can happen (John 8:31-32).

What phrase or sentence from today’s post spoke to your heart the most and why?