Daily Mercies !
When I read the Bible, I sometimes read it like any other book I would read. I realized recently that this is not the best way to read the Bible. The Pharisees read the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) this way, and it didn’t do them any good, because of the state of their hearts when they read it. Jesus said their hearts were hardened and their ears were dull. So I ask myself what is the state of my heart when I read my Bible?
If I read my Bible with a soft heart and my ears open, then I realize how UTTERLY AMAZING all that I read in the Bible is. As I read my Bible with a heart full of faith, I stand in AWE of all that God is speaking to me through His Word. It’s the difference between reading the Word objectively and subjectively. Am I reading the Word like a list of facts or am I reading the Word, knowing that God wrote each Word to speak to me? The Bible is a love letter to us from God. How will we let this letter from God affect us? If we read His love letter to us with a heart full of FAITH, then His letter to us will truly change us.
Here’s an example of what I mean. In Lamentations 3:22-23 English Standard Version we read about what God’s heart towards us is:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
If we really believe that His mercies are new every morning, then with faith in our hearts we should be looking for them. If indeed we receive new mercies from God every day, then at the end of the day, we can look back and see His mercy to us for that day. I have started making this a practice for myself. At then end of the day, I look back and I ask God to show me, where was Your mercy for me in this day? He always shows me something, even on my very worst days.
This word mercies is translated as “compassion, by extension the womb (as cherishing the fetus), tender love, mercy, pity.” Yes, God’s heart is tender and loving towards us, showing us His compassion. He extends His mercy to us in so many ways! It’s so interesting that this word mercies at it’s root means WOMB, because who is more helpless than the baby in the womb, totally dependent on it’s mother for everything it needs to grow and develop? In the same way, we are so helpless and NEEDY, much more than we realize (much more than I realize!). We depend on God for everything we need; we’re so helpless and yet He shows us His compassion and mercy.
I love this verse in Psalm 103: 13-14 New American Standard Bible, which explains His compassion for us:
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
If He knows my frame, then I don’t have to explain myself to Him. I don’t have to explain to Him that I am very emotional and tend to overreact to things-He knows my weaknesses, because He made me. If He knows I am dust, then I don’t have to explain my helplessness to Him. I don’t have to explain how utterly NEEDY I am, how dependent on Him I am for EVERYTHING. He knows that I am helpless without Him.
And if we can’t find any other mercy from Him in our day, then we can find His mercy in sending His Son Jesus to rescue us from our poor dust-filled state and in REDEEMING us! We can thank Him daily for that mercy.
So moms, let’s
LOOK FOR HIS MERCIES EVERY DAY AND WE WILL FIND THEM!
In His Love,
Suzanne
Mom Morsels 