THE BLESSINGS OF MERCY AND RESTORATION

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones, so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal. Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out. They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them — let their flesh be renewed like a child’s; let them be restored as in the days of their youth’ — then that person can pray to God and find favor with Him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; He will restore them to full well-being. And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’ “

“God does all these things to a person — twice, even three times — to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.”

“Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. If you have anything to say, answer me; speak up, for I want to vindicate you. But if not, then listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom. ”

Job 33:19-33

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A post on Facebook simply said the following:

“Dear God, I know I’m not perfect but I want to thank You for loving me anyway.”

This person, like so many others (myself included), realize the awesome blessings that come every day in the way of God’s mercy. The writer of Lamentations felt the same way as he wrote:

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”  Lamentations 3:22-23 (HCSB)

When we truly realize how blessed we are in life, we aren’t seeing blessings as material in nature, such as a nice house, nice car, great job, or wonderful family. We see God’s blessings as much more fundamental than that for we see His blessings most evident in His mercy and grace and love - a love that is faithful and true, a love that is given to us even when we live less than perfect lives, and a love that sustains us vice destroy us.

Yes, this love, expressed through mercy and grace, is new every morning as God allows us to awake from rest and breath in and out for another day, another day where He is ready to reveal His glory and guide us toward His righteousness and purpose for our lives. Each day we can live is a reason to give thanks, no matter what our circumstances are. It’s this sense of contentment, that allowed the apostle Paul to sat that he could be content in whatever his circumstances, whether well fed or hungry, whether having all or in want. Paul knew of God’s grace and mercy given to him although he didn’t merit it and he game thanks for the Lord’s forgiveness and pardon. Once a killer of Christians who saw himself as the chief of all sinners, Paul found himself restored and redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ who died to pay the price for all of Paul’s sins as well as yours, mine and all of mankind. Christ’s sacrifice was and is the reminder of God’s compassion and mercy for His creation, displayed in His willingness to give up His one and only Son so we could live. Indeed, Jesus came to give us life and give it to us more abundantly.

Yes, we serve a God who blesses us with mercy and restoration.

This was the point Elihu was trying to make in the remaining verses of Job, Chapter 33. After reminding Job that God is not silent but rather speaks to us in a multitude of ways, the young man speaks with wisdom and truth well beyond his years, nicely framing the wonderful redeeming and restoring qualities of the Father. Here’s what he said:

“Or someone may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in their bones, so that their body finds food repulsive and their soul loathes the choicest meal. Their flesh wastes away to nothing, and their bones, once hidden, now stick out. They draw near to the pit, and their life to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them — let their flesh be renewed like a child’s; let them be restored as in the days of their youth’ — then that person can pray to God and find favor with Him, they will see God’s face and shout for joy; He will restore them to full well-being. And they will go to others and say, ‘I have sinned, I have perverted what is right, but I did not get what I deserved. God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’ “

“God does all these things to a person — twice, even three times — to turn them back from the pit, that the light of life may shine on them.”

After the fall of man in the Garden of Eden and the advent of sin, mankind faced doom without some form of salvation. Perverting what was right, man’s transgressions warranted nothing but a trip to the pit (Hell) from God’s wrath and destruction. That’s what sinners deserve but that’s not what they get, that is unless they die without accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. No, God grants compassion and mercies that are new every morning. He isn’t willing to give up on us. Rather, He is the Father waiting and watching for His prodigals to return to Him – ready to receive them back with open arms and a glad heart, rejoicing that one of His children who were once lost are now found (Luke 15:11-32).

God realizes we aren’t perfect but He does expect us to repent of our sins and take proactive steps to get back on the narrow path of righteousness, the path He is ever ready to guide us along. The Father is ready to restore anyone to full well being, as Elihu shared, and reveal His delivering power – not just once but many times during the course of our lives.

If you don’t believe this, consider how many times you have sinned, and yet you are still here and reading this today. Is this not reason to rejoice and give thanks?

Friends, whatever life might bring our way, we are blessed – in good times and in bad – blessed by the truth of God’s awesome mercy and restoration – and blessed by the pardon that comes through our special Mediator, our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend, Jesus Christ.

If you know Christ, never cease to thank Him and the Father for your salvation.

If you don’t know Jesus, today is the day to change that and experience the fullest riches of God’s love, mercy, and restoration that extend beyond this worldly life and into eternity through Christ’s salvation power.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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