It was just Amy and I in the house when the sun rose today. She awoke in the den on that unwelcoming hospital bed and I awoke in our room that we will share again in the future. Our children spent the night with some family friends and I am once again reminded that things are not as they once were. Before melancholy thoughts could find an avenue to capture my mind, I was presented the following words in a helpful quote from a man with whom I am unfamiliar:
“There is mercy with the Lord; this should encourage the miserable to approach Him; this informs the fearful that they need bring nothing to induce Him to bless them; this calls upon backsliders to return to Him; and this is calculated to cheer the tried Christian, under all his troubles and distresses. Remember, mercy is like God, it is infinite and eternal. Mercy is always on the throne. Mercy may be obtained by any sinner.” – James Smith, as quoted by Charles Spurgeon.
Mercy is a very powerful attribute of God. Whereas His own nature dictates that He must always be holy and just and right and perfect…mercy is an option with God. He is not inherently obligated to be merciful. He often chooses to do so but He can withhold it without being justifiably charged with any wrongdoing. His word tells us plainly that God has said, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ The choice is His alone.
I would hazard this thought today: anyone approaching God in humility and brokenness will certainly experience His mercy. It is not that we can earn His mercy through our weakness and contrition, it is that we find mercy through these things. A careful reading of the Bible will leave us concluding that God is powerfully attracted to human weakness. I go a step further by saying that His infinite love causes Him to erect circumstances in our lives that will necessitate his mercy. Sometimes He will not wait on your weakness but, instead, He will ordain it. Our fickle hearts do not always respond in robust faith during times like that. We fear, we wrestle, we moan while we refuse to yield and, in so doing, we cut ourselves off from mercy. We look for strength and answers within ourselves or from other inferior sources and only come up with fistfuls of air. Sometimes God chooses to show you heaviness so that He may more lastingly show you relief. Take your time to discern if that is what may be happening in your life right now. God has ordained that you will experience His blessed mercy so He determines that there must be circumstances that facilitate this opportunity. Don’t focus on the pressure, the powerlessness or the pain. Focus on the potential and…
Be there when it happens.
If the phrase “For His mercy endureth for ever” appears 41 times in the KJV (his steadfast love endures forever 45 times in the ESV!!), do you that – just possibly – the Lord might be trying to get us to understand something?
2 Corinthians 4:7-12 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to dispair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.”
As to Amy, we say what Jesus said in Mark5:36″ …….Do not fear, only believe”. Yes dear Lord Jesus we believe.He is omnipotent. Mark9:23 Jesus said”All things are possible for one who believes”.We believe Lord help our unbelief.We claim our blessings that Jesus promised them to us when we believe. We are always praying for Amy.Jesus will heal her soon, no further surgery,
no further confinement.Glory be to our Lord.
Sam & Zack.
More on James Smith here: I hope to put his little biography online soon and update this site – I haven’t done anything on it for a couple of years.
https://revjamessmith.wordpress.com/