What is she thinking? The wedding is one week away! That thought raced through my mind as I worked on my piano music for a marriage ceremony. Though I’d tried for weeks to nail down song titles, keys, and more with the other wedding musician, the silence was deafening.
On the wedding day, part of me wanted to lash out at the other musician for keeping us from being prepared. But God enabled me to extend mercy. The woman told me she’d been working long hours, and I also learned she had recently been divorced. I thanked God for giving me a heart of mercy for a person whose life had simply been too full of pain and exhaustion to respond the way I would have liked.
God’s mercy flows today just as it did during the time of Jonah. Though the prophet got many things wrong, he was dead on when he stated, “My salvation comes from the Lord alone” (Jonah 2:9). Those words can also be translated, “Salvation belongs to the Lord.” God in His loving authority extends grace and mercy to those we might deem unworthy—like that heartless family member, mean-spirited co-worker, or unrepentant neighbor.
In fact, God’s mercy is so amazing He showered it on Israel’s enemies in the city of Nineveh. Listen to these words God spoke to Jonah (who wanted Him to lash out at the Ninevites and destroy them): “Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness . . . . Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:11).
May we extend mercy today to those who don’t deserve it. The people around us are broken just as we are. They need to be “snatched from the jaws of death”—spiritual death (Jonah 2:6). May we “[remember] the Lord,” turn to Him in prayer, and allow the beauty of His mercy to triumph (Jonah 2:7, Jonah 4:2).
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 7:13-29
More:
Read 2 Peter 3:9 and reflect on God’s mercy and grace.
Next:
Who do you need to show God’s mercy to today? How does His mercy contrast sharply with much of what we experience in the world?
robyn657 on July 4, 2017 at 2:03 am
This really spoke into my situation again today. So very thankful that God gives us exactly what we need, when we need it xo
Tom Felten on July 5, 2017 at 9:54 am
Praising God with you, robyn657. God truly does provide what we need (Philippians 4:19).
godlove on July 4, 2017 at 5:29 am
Thank you, Tom for this great devo. I, too, have usually fallen victim of trying to give others the treatment I think they deserve, instead of simply extending grace, without condition. It’s true we can have the easy tendency to treat others from the merit or deserve standpoint, even when we know little or nothing about the reality of the other person’s situation. And even if we did know the full picture, we easily forget how undeserving we are when God, through the sacrifice of His Son, forgives us of all our sins and keeps loving us even when we have sinned. I pray we always reflect God’s love in our lives by making the effort (conscious, if necessary) to show grace and mercy to all around us, even when it’s hard.
Tom Felten on July 5, 2017 at 9:56 am
Amen, godlove. The grace we’ve received should be lavished on others!
Gary Shultz on July 4, 2017 at 6:14 am
Hi Tom: A great reminder to not get our noses up in the air. After we have lived the “godly” life for a while we begin to loose sight of exactly what we were like, and from what origins we came from. I see the same pattern happen in the work force. A “newbie” comes on the job and works with people who have efficiently done their job for years. They begin to nick away at the “newbie” because they have not handled the ropes before. So, to the experienced worker, the “newbie” looks hardly adequate to do the job, we forget it took mercy to start and mercy to continue and grow. There is something to be said “for the school of hard knocks” but mercy lifts up, not pressing down. To apply a legalistic approach to those who trying to gain stability, only grows the anxiety, and multiplies arrogance for those, who seemingly by their own efforts, have obtained a better level. The “back hand” needs to be the hand of mercy most times. Thanks Tom
Tom Felten on July 5, 2017 at 9:58 am
Good thoughts, Gary. I once read that it takes 3 years for a person to truly be proficient in a new job. Here’s to showing grace to all the newbies we’re working with today!
don777 on July 4, 2017 at 8:21 am
Mercy given mercy received. The glass is 1/2 empty or 1/2 full, the glass has the same amount in it either way. Attitude is a choice. It take God in our life in order to have this Grace for others. So what is going on with me that i am living in the flesh than the Spirit. What is going on with my relationship with Jesus. It takes the 1st commandment in order to do the 2nd commandment. God knows that the biggest test is others, that is why He made it the 2nd commandment. God is Love. Oh Lord i need you to flow through me to others. Let me remember the Grace & Mercy that you gave me & are still giving me That i would give Grace & Mercy to others. Wow is me that i would think i am above my neighbor. Please forgive me. give the strength to let go of myself and the strength stay surrendered to You. i need a Savior every day all day. Thank You Jesus +>i
Tom Felten on July 5, 2017 at 10:01 am
Beautiful prayer, don777. And I’m so glad you referred to the Holy Spirit’s working in and through us. The Spirit provides what we need to love others well!
minkjh on July 4, 2017 at 8:21 pm
Tom, we do need to be careful when reacting to bumps in the road. Spending much of my life ‘in the world’ as my vocation dictated, I’ve caught myself more than once parroting the world’s response when things don’t go according to plan. Mercy often is neglected or forgotten when it comes to meeting a deadline or achieving a bottom line in the black. I wonder if the reaction would be different if work time and worship time exchanged places…one day laboring and six in P & W. What’s remarkable is we’ll do even better on the other side of glory thanks to His mercy toward us.
Tom Felten on July 5, 2017 at 10:08 am
What an amazing thought, minkjh. It would be so interesting to know what it would be like to labor one day a week and spend the remaining six in praise and worship. Here’s the exciting thing . . . we can praise and worship God throughout the day even as we’re working, enjoying recreation, whatever! As don777 said, this all comes down to attitude and emphasis. May our hearts be prepared to share more mercy and grace to others as we have been doing everything “for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).