Consumed by Mercy
It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
It is easy to get caught up in thinking about what all we’ve done wrong, feeling sorry for oneself, regret, shame and unforgiveness . The list goes on and on, but the truth is, that’s all just a trap. Mercy is granted to those who do not deserve it, that’s what it does, it is the very nature of God. We all believe lies in our head that tell us somehow we are not good enough, we have messed up too bad, or one too many times to deserve mercy.
What really is mercy anyway?
Mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. It is also compassionate treatment of those in distress. It’s simply pity or compassion that comes from love. You can’t have love without forgiveness or forgiveness without love. We did not deserve mercy and yet it’s the whole reason that Christ died. So, when we think we don’t deserve it, we must think about the cross. The love of God was literally poured out on us through the work of Jesus.
The writer of Lamentations was having a hard time. He was mourning the destruction of Jerusalem that had came upon them as a result of their sin. Not all hard times are a result of sin, it rains on the just and the unjust, but some are a result of turning away from God and His direction. God invites and calls His people time and time again throughout His word, to repent and turn around! It is the main call for salvation. Why? He loves us and wants us back, because we have all sinned and strayed.
Sin draws us away from God but repentance brings us back.
What parent would want their child to wander, stray or to be distanced in relationship with them? God doesn’t want us to wander. He knows that sin has a way of keeping us and from Him, just like it does from those whom we love. We too often distance ourselves from those closest to us because they know us best, and the truth is, the truth hurts too bad. It exposes what we are ashamed of and it is a constant reminder of where we’ve gone wrong. But, it is the very truth that sets us free.
Think back to that trap, that’s what it wants to do, hold you down in the lie that you could never return. The enemy wants to keep us in the very sin that entangles us and one way of doing that is through regret and shame, which keeps us back from repentance. God longs to show us mercy! We are His children.
He desires that we live Holy lives, fully dedicated to Him, like Jesus did. The way to stay out of sin, is to focus our lives around Him. Jesus not only came to be that example but He also made it possible. Temptation comes to all and in many different forms. Sin is knocking daily. That’s one reason why we can go back to the 70x7 forgiveness scripture that we find in Matthew 18:21-22 , because where there’s an opportunity to sin so there’s always an opportunity to forgive.
Just as sin is never ending, neither is mercy and with it we conquer sin.
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. Lamentations 3:17-20
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:21-24
See the distinct difference in these sets of scriptures? There was a shift in the tone because there was a shift in the mind set. If in the mind you first believed the lie, then it’s in the mind that you destroy and conquer the lie. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we can cast down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ! He was focused on his misery at first but then he started to remember God’s faithfulness.
Think about David in the Psalms, how many times was he down and out but then he talked himself back up again? It’s easy to get down and feel defeated like there’s no point or hope in trying. The shift simply came from recalling the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord. That’s in a nutshell the very reason why we are not consumed. For God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son. The world represents sin. The Son represents righteousness and love. Love is mercy and forgiveness. God loved us that much to send Jesus so that we should not perish in the very sin that tries to destroy us.
Tell me why you don’t deserve it? It’s not deserved, it was freely given and it came with a high price, the blood of Jesus that He sacrificed. It was all for you. It was all for me and we should take it personally! It is not His will that even one perish but that all would come to repentance! That’s mercy.
To lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow, it’s mourning or weeping. That’s what this whole book is about but through the sorrow, joy can come again. Jeremiah expressed that his soul was far from peace and he had forgotten what good and happiness was. Have you ever been there? He had no peace, no strength, and even his expectation was gone. His misery was ever before him, he couldn’t seem to forget about it, and I imagine that everything was a constant reminder of how far he felt away from God.
I don’t know about you but I’ve felt like an outcast wanderer, in a funk that I just couldn’t get out of. It seems like the writer was having a bad day but the truth is, it had gone on longer than a day. He had warned the people of God’s coming destruction. The saying is true: Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. That’s what happened to the people of Jerusalem and the whole city suffered for it, because they refused to obey. But God shows mercy!
We like to categorize sin and have this idea of what it looks like in other people’s lives but we don’t like to look at the cause of own. That’s where we need to be aware, because it’s the very sin that separates us personally from God, that we often don’t or refuse to see.
Sometimes, it’s the least likely things that get us derailed. David got off track at one point, his sin was obvious but until he confessed and repented, his life didn’t turn back around. That should encourage us that there is hope in this thing that we are going through.
Maybe we’ve let fear take over, maybe we’ve stopped trusting and obeying God, maybe it’s an addiction or habit that we just can’t seem to kick, maybe it’s unforgiveness or pride that has taken over our heart, or maybe we love things more than we love doing what’s right. Whatever it is, don’t be fooled by it! ASK God to expose it and repent. The enemy wants to keep us caught up in the trap or distracted by the very thing that keeps us away from repenting.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
Sin starts off small, it creeps and wedges it’s way in, and eventually what was once a foot hold or wedge, becomes a full blown take over. That’s why it destroys us and why God longs to show us mercy before it does.
It’s like house work or car maintenance, or whatever you want to compare it to. When we ignore it long enough, it’ll just pile up and become worst, like a bad tear that started off small. No matter how much we try to ignore it, it’s still a fact of life. There’s no way around it. We can’t ignore sin and expect it not to get the best of us, or that it won’t come to us, because we are all tempted. Even Jesus was. (Hebrews 4:15)
We must stay on guard against sin but instead of focusing on it, focus on mercy! If His mercies are new every morning, shouldn’t ours be too? Focus on the love of God, the fact that Christ loved us that much that He chose to die for us while we were yet still in our sin, rather than your mess ups. He didn’t wait for us to straighten up, He knew we needed mercy. When He was on the cross, we were on His mind.
If we constantly think about messing up, then we for sure will. But, if we focus love and mercy, then we will learn to do that well. What we focus on, overtakes us.
Remember this and lament over your sin. Truly feel remorse for it, and you’ll be repentant of it. Don’t just feel bad, truly be sorry. Feeling bad isn’t really productive. Feel the sorrow; weep, cry, get it all out and give it to God. Pour out your heart to Him.
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? Romans 2:4
“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God "will repay each person according to what they have done."To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Romans 2:5-8 NIV
Don’t despise the goodness of God. He is long suffering toward us all and His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance, not away from it. That’s satan’s job!
Believe the truth that God loves you, receive His love and forgiveness and then give it away. It’s the only way to keep your house Holy and temple clean. We are the temple of God and sin ought not reside and rule. We must kick it out and clean house. The only way to do that is through sorrow and repentance; turning around and having a change of heart and mind. We must feel and work through the sorrow before we can experience and feel the joy again that comes from reuniting with God.
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:25-26
I encourage you to read the remainder of Lamentations for yourself. Grief is real but He doesn’t willingly from His heart afflict or grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:32-33) We are His children and as imperfect as we are , who would want to afflict their child to the point of no return. We discipline because we love. It is all to teach and correct; to show them what is right so that they would turn around, and not keep going in the wrong direction to suffer for it. How else would they know? It’s the correction part that turns us around. God disciplines those He loves.
Read Luke 1:70-80. It’s because of His tender mercies and the covenant that He made from way long ago, that we can live fearless, righteous and holy lives - (fully dedicated and consecrated to Him.) When Jesus died, He also delivered us from our enemies and the sin that keeps us bound in darkness but we must follow Him into the way of peace.
When you are dedicated to something, you’re sold out to it, and in relentless in your pursuit of it. If God is our life, then we are to relentlessly pursue after Him.
Let us search (examine) and try (test) our ways, and turn again to the LORD. Lamentations 3:40
“Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary”
Lord prepare me
To be a sanctuary
Pure and holy
Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I'll be a living
Sanctuary, oh for You
