MErcy Begins with ME

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Matt 5:7

Mercy is not simply sympathy for someone. It implies an “active sense” of compassion or pity for someone suffering or in distress. I used to have a hard time discerning the difference between GRACE and MERCY. Then I heard it like this:
Grace is what God gives that we don't deserve. Mercy is what God doesn't give that we do deserve.

I am putting this mercy thing to practice. I am extending it to others so that it will come back to me! I am certain that there will be a time when I need mercy and if I do what God says, I will get it when I need it. I am also learning more about the Lord as I read through His Word this year. If you don't read it every day I encourage you to start. I came across Psalm 41 the other day and the first three verses really picked me up as I gleaned some insight on what God can and will do for us as we help others. It says...
1 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2 The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; 
he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
3 The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.
Did you catch all of that? I was studying mercy and found that God delivers, protects, preserves,blesses, sustains and restores! All of this for the one that has regard for the weak. In other words, if I start thinking of others first, God will take care of me.

So I will extend mercy today. Whether it is deserved or not I will do it because that is how I make certain that it shows up for me when I need it. I show mercy because the Lord has already been merciful to me in that while I was a sinner, Christ died for my sins. He paid the price and I reap the benefits.
Maybe you should extend mercy too. Quit holding a grudge and carrying those hurst from one relationship to the next. Let it go. Be merciful. MErcy begins with ME!

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