Too often, we allow our minds to think that we have drifted so far from God that we are beyond His mercy. We are acting like Old Testament believers who are under the law and have no escape from God’s wrath. We must shake off any idea that we can be saved by the law.
Never rely on your ability to obey more than the mercy of God. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalm 51:1-2 NKJV).
So many who fail will stay away from God, fearful that He will not show mercy. But God is a merciful God, and His mercy has no ending that we can ever find. If you want to receive His mercy, then all you must do is go to Him.
Stop doubting God’s ability to forgive you. “Who is a God like You, who forgives wickedness and passes over the rebellious acts of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He [constantly] delights in mercy and lovingkindness. He shall again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power]. Yes, You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19 AMP).
Sometimes, we think we are doing pretty good and that we have reached a level that doesn’t need very much of His mercy. We are terribly wrong when we think that, for His mercy covers those things we are not even aware of. We are more corrupt than we realize.
God’s ability to forgive is greater than your inability to live righteously. “For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalm 86:5 NKJV).
We need Christ’s mercy, and we need to continually go to Him to receive it. We need to plead our case, which, simply put, says that apart from His mercy, we cannot be saved. It is not the strong Christian that Jesus is looking for but the one who is broken before Him.
When love is your compass, heaven will be your destination. “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 21 NIV).
Too many times, we put our eyes on man and see the limits of what he can do. We need to look no further than the mirror to find someone who is so limited in what they can do. But God has a different plan as we are to look to Him.
No matter how low you go, yet the Lord can still reach down and save you. “Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that He may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously” (Isaiah 55:7 NLT).
When you recognize the great need you have for His mercy, and then you boldly go to Him to receive it, with the confident trust of a little child, your life will be filled with the peace that He will surely give you. His mercy is not just enough but abundantly more than enough.
Stop thinking you’ve fallen from grace when you’ve landed right in the middle of it. “Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]” (Hebrews 4:16 AMPC).
We should surrender to God that by His Holy Spirit, He can make us more holy. But we must never lose sight of the truth that never changes, which is that we need mercy from God every single day. Thank Him for the mercy He shows you and even for the things you don’t even know about.
It’s impossible to reach the end of God’s mercy. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV).
We cannot fathom a God who shows us so much mercy when, in return, we always struggle to show mercy to others. If you want to show more mercy to others, then let the Lord Jesus show them mercy through you. If His mercy fills you, then it will surely spill over.
You can’t reach the end of God’s mercy because it has no end. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 118:1 NKJV).
May you live your life with gratitude for His mercy. May you always know how much mercy you really need. May you each day go to Him and ask Him for His mercy and then thank Him for all that He has done. Let His mercy be the banner that goes before you.
The more you realize how little you deserve from God, the greater your joy will be in all that He has given you. “He has not treated us as our sins deserve or paid us back for our offenses, because his mercy toward those who fear him is as far above earth as heaven” (Psalm 103:10-11 CJB).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
This particular post, “Swimming In Mercy,” compassionately conveys such an urgently important yet ever-timely message to one and all, and so very well written, as anointed affectionately, ardently by the Spirit of mercy and truth.
Oh, oh, let everything that has breath and every breath of our everlasting life praise and thank the One Beautiful Triune God, the lavishly, limitlessly loving Trinity of most marvelously merciful, munificent Infinity! Past our soulish stupidity, sin sickness, and sordid selfishness, revel and rejoice royally in our merciful Maker, Who is infinitely worthy to be gratefully loved and obeyed ever the more as the King of kindness. Yes, ever and always, “He Has You,” by His unending mercy as the God Who Is Love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16), the faultless and faithful Father of mercies and the gracious and glorious God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), our ardent and affectionate Advocate (1 Jn 2:1, Jn 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7), our intensely involved and intimate Intercessor (Heb. 7:25), and our pure and perfect, prevailing Priest ( (Heb. 2:17; 4:14).
Beloved brother Paul, richly, I remember the mighty mercy our Maker magnificently manifested in your life toward me when, on this blog, “He Has You,” I confessed concerning a longstanding stronghold of sin I sadly struggled with. Again, thank you very much, my friend, for being so like Christ as your writings and comments so consistently, cogently contain!
Thank you my dear Brother, you are such a blessing to me. I thank God for sending you to be in my life!
I am struggling neck high in sin right now. I am unable to overcome it on my own. The more I try the worse I get. Please pray for me. The prayer of the righteous avails much.
Hi Tatiana, oh yes, of course I will pray for you. I pray for the Holy Spirit to have the right of way in your life to change you. May the change be radical and the change be final, by the power of God Most High.