Deliver Me (Part 5 of 5)
God delivers us because He is merciful.
I was in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas this past week to speak at a women’s conference, but I went in early for a number of reasons, including to spend a day catching up with an old friend.
My friend has a daughter with special needs who attends daily classes at the Mission Road Home in south San Antonio. Twice a week, this sister-friend of twenty-five years makes jewelry with her daughter and the other young women at Mission Road and organizes other fun activities with them, like throwing pizza parties, celebrating birthdays, or going on field trips.
The jewelry they create, every bit as beautiful as what you would find in a fancy department store, is sold at their annual fundraising event, and they just found out it will be for sale at one of San Antonio’s famous missions! A large amount of the proceeds from jewelry sales is donated back to the Mission Road ministry, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
In the past, I didn’t have time to join my friend at Mission Road, but this trip, I carved out the day to go with her to see what she does, and to visit with her daughter who I had known since she was a little girl. Little did I know that I would be sharing my story with the women, which led to all of them telling their personal stories as well. They are all high-functioning, and many of them were disabled because of childhood diseases and disorders, things that they had no control over. I fell in love with this group, in their twenties and thirties, and I’m now connected via Social Media with a couple of them. If you are reading this, sweet sisters, I can’t wait to see you all again.
However, I have not always been this merciful. When you grow up in dysfunction, you turn the dial into survival mode and think everyone should be as strong as you are. Perhaps you can relate.
But the Lord has re-wired me in this area, as He continues to conform me to His image. He has given me a heart for women who grew up in an challenging environment and who still struggle as a result of it. When I spoke to imprisoned women recently, my soul bled for them, as I shared the hope they can have in Jesus Christ. Eleven of them accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and had a desire to make a change in their lives. I want to find more opportunities to speak to those who are incarcerated or disabled because that is what Jesus would do. He is abundantly merciful and compassionate, reaching the “least of these” and He wants us to be like Him.
The truth is that none of us deserve God’s mercy, but we desperately need it. It’s through His mercy that He delivers us, because we all need to be rescued from something. Because of this, we should be merciful with others, just as He is merciful with us.
As I did a word search on “mercy” in the Bible, there are more passages about God’s mercy than we can include in this blog but here are a few:
“But you, O God the Lord, deal with me for Your name’s sake; because Your mercy is good, deliver me” (Psalm 109:21) NKJV.
“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5). NIV
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16) NIV.
As God continues to mold me to be more like Him, I am thankful for the mercy He has shown me over the years, and I am praying for increased mercy toward others. Luke 6:36 says we should “be merciful, just as our Father is merciful.”
Father, we pray that you will pour out your mercy on us and through us today. Help us to be as merciful with others as you are with us. In Jesus name we pray, AMEN.