SEEKING MERCY

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In Christ, Mark

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

They keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled!”

“I have not run away from being Your shepherd; You know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before You. Do not be a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.”

“Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.”

Jeremiah 17:15-18

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

How do you come before the Lord each day?

Do you come confident and bold, as if you are somehow on some even level with the Lord? Or do you approach Him in absolute humility and reverence, fully understanding who He is and who you are in relation?

The reason I ask is that our approach toward God impacts our life attitude.

Some people carry themselves around as if they are God’s buddy, someone who can just hang out and chum around with the Lord like a best friend who so often looks past out shortcomings because they just like our companionship. Others carry themselves as if they are sinners who stand before a God who has no sin in Him, a God who hates and judges sin.

Those in the latter category are not seeking a buddy in God. They are seeking mercy.

I know in my life, I have always come before God with wonder because I deserved to be wiped off the face of His creation a long time ago because of my sinfulness and blatant disregard for His word, will, and way for me life. I once carried myself around as if God were obligated to give me life, like I somehow earned it. After all, didn’t He allow me to come into it? I’m sure my arrogance had to stoke the fires of God’s anger but He showed a restraint and patience with me that is beyond understanding. The very reason I am able to write these words today is a testimony to His amazing grace and forgiveness and I have learned that God’s judgment is possible and real. Seeking mercy is a daily part of my spiritual faith life. It will be when we understand who God is and who we are before Him.

As we see in today’s scripture passage, Jeremiah, God’s chosen and appointed prophet to the Israelites, definitely understood his relationship with the Lord. Look again at these words:

They keep saying to me, “Where is the word of the Lord? Let it now be fulfilled!”

“I have not run away from being Your shepherd; You know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before You. Do not be a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.”

“Let my persecutors be put to shame, but keep me from shame; let them be terrified, but keep me from terror. Bring on them the day of disaster; destroy them with double destruction.”  Jeremiah 17:15-18

Jeremiah knew the power that God held and that neither he nor anyone else could stand against it. The people of Israel have heard the message of coming judgment from Jeremiah but didn’t believe them. They believed they could just go about their lives in the way they wanted and that there would be no consequences, even if they chose to worship other gods. They had heard the threats proposed by Jeremiah but didn’t believe they would come to be. And so they persecuted and mocked God’s messenger and, in doing so, mocked Him as well. It wouldn’t be long before they would find that was a terrible mistake.

Conversely, we see Jeremiah fully getting it. He knew God could and would bring terror on anyone who disregarded Him and violated His commandments. He had done it in the past and He was about to do it again. Jeremiah knew it and prayed that he would not be judged with the rest. He pleaded to God, asking Him to not be a terror in his life but rather a refuge in the day of disaster, the day when He brought punishment on the Israelites of Judah and Jerusalem by way of the Babylonians.

Jeremiah had been a faithful servant to God, serving as His shepherd for the people of Israel. God knew what had passed across his lips as he spoke the very words that God gave him to a population of people who closed their ears and hearts to them. The prophet prayed that he had been loyal enough to the Lord to be spared when judgment came and in doing so, he was simply seeking mercy.

Friends, there is no doubting that we serve a God who is full of grace and mercy and forgiveness, a God who loves and cherishes us dearly. But there is also no doubting that we serve a God who hates sin and no escaping the fact that we are all sinners before Him. We can’t go through life expecting a free pass, even when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. For God will still hold us accountable in this world for the things we do against Him and others. And thus, we should always come before Him with a humble heart and mind, seeking to be instruments of His will and way while ever seeking His mercy and giving thanks for His grace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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