“…who knoweth if He will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him?” Joel 2:13
We have only to look at Psalm 107 to discover how man can so easily find himself in very difficult circumstances, and states of mind, where there is no other place to look but up to God, and appeal to His mercy. Why is this? It is because of need, personal, profound, and persistent need. Before Adam fell into sin, he was a man “satiated” and satisifed. He had but one need, and that was for God. After he fell, he was no longer satisifed with the infinite grace and glory of God. His highest desire, to be with, to walk with, to commune with God, was replaced by degrading sinful desires, or lusts, which had their source in Satan and the fallen nature. It is in this context, whether the application is to a nation or an individual, that the mercy of God begins to reveal itself. The darker and deeper the need, the greater the unveiling of the mercy of God to reach down and meet the need of the lost, and dying sinner. For the believer, the mercy of God is his greatest appeal in his need, for out of the depths of the love of God, His mercy never fails to come and respond to the heart’s cry. David so clearly expressed this in Psalm 61:2, when he wrote: “From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” If then mercy is a key to walking with God, then how is it to be applied and appropriated in the life? How can one KNOW this mercy on a daily basis, and especially in difficult circumstances which can overwhelm him?
When the enemy of our souls oppresses and opposes us, and sometimes seeks to overwhelm us with the conciousness of need, and perhaps sin, it is then that the last, great, and sure recourse becomes the mercy of God. The hand of God’s mercy is that last point of reference, and means of escaping being whisked out to sea by the currents of this world. But rest assured, and be certain of this very thing, that he who truly comes to God, and seeks His mercy, will find it. It will manifest itself as abundant grace that is greater than all our sin, as a very present help in time of trouble, as a sufficient enabling of the Spirit, to rise above the waves of the sea, to overcome, and to reign in life by one, Christ Jesus.
In the book of Hebrews, after God has led the author to consider the great truths of the magesty and character of God, he takes the believer by the hand to bring him to the very throne of God, by revealing the way of faith in Christ, based uniquely in the living Christ and Work of Calvary. Now, here is a great mystery, how the eternal God, Maker of us all, and our Redeemer, can receive us, accept us, love us, bless us, and meet all the needs of our hearts and souls. Here is the eternal God who bids us come to Him, not reservedly or timidly, but boldly, in full assurance of faith. How can this be? It is by the power of an indestructible life, Christ’s life, and the finishing of an everlasting, perfect work of salvation. To the Christian, or believer, is revealed the basis for coming to God, a sure foundation, a certain new and living way. And what does God tell us of mercy and grace in our coming? He says that we are to come boldly, not brashly, but full of faith, “…unto the throne of grace.” That throne is the place of authority where the mercy and grace of God are dispensed to every individual that comes to Him. We are there to “obtain” mercy, making it our own. We are also to find grace, His abundant help for every need.
Dear Father, Help us obtain mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.