Appreciating and Experiencing God’s Mercy

What is mercy? The dictionary defines it as “clemency and compassion shown to a person who is in a position of powerlessness or subjection, or to a person with no right or claim to receive kindness; kind and compassionate treatment in a case where severity is merited or expected.”

This definition describes every fallen human being before God. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Powerless and under righteous judgment, we had no right to receive any kindness or compassionate treatment from God.

But God had tremendous mercy on us in our fallen, sinful condition and opened a way for us to be saved through believing in Jesus Christ.

Today, we’ll read a few verses and notes in the New Testament Recovery Version to gain a fresh appreciation of God’s mercy. We’ll also see how we can continue to experience God’s mercy throughout our Christian life.

The source of God’s mercy

Since fallen human beings are utterly undeserving and powerless to claim anything from God, why does He extend His mercy to us?

First, to see how much we needed God’s mercy, let’s read Ephesians 2:1-3:

“And you, though dead in your offenses and sins, in which you once walked according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit which is now operating in the sons of disobedience; among whom we also all conducted ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

This was our situation before we were saved. Our condition was truly wretched before God. We were dead in our offenses and sins, walked according to the evil age of this world and according to the evil ruler of the air (Satan), conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, and, by nature, we were children of wrath!

The very next verse begins with “But God.” Ephesians 2:4-5 says:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”

This passage shows us it’s because of God’s greatlove for us that He is rich in mercy to us. Despite our awful condition, God greatly loved us, and in His mercy, He caused us to be saved by grace.

Paul’s experience of God’s mercy

Paul, who was formerly known as Saul, could write these words in Ephesians 2 because he himself had experienced God’s rich mercy.

In 1 Timothy 1:12-13, Paul testified:

“I give thanks to Him who empowers me, Christ Jesus our Lord, that He has counted me faithful, appointing me to the ministry, who formerly was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insulting person; but I was shown mercy because, being ignorant, I acted in unbelief.”

This was Paul’s testimony: “I was shown mercy.”

In the New Testament Recovery Version, note 3 on mercy in verse 13 says:

“Saul, a blasphemer and a persecutor, first was shown mercy and then received grace (v. 14). Mercy reaches farther toward the unworthy one than grace does. Because Saul was one who blasphemed God and persecuted man, God’s mercy reached him before the Lord’s grace did.”

God’s mercy was able to reach even a person like Saul, one who blasphemed God and persecuted the believers of Jesus! This shows how rich God’s mercy is. It extends to even the most unworthy and seemingly unreachable.

God had mercy on Saul, not just to turn him from being a blasphemer and insulting person, but also to bring him into a position where he could receive and enjoy God’s marvelous grace.

We can continue to experience God’s mercy and grace

We all experienced the mercy of God when we were saved, and we can continue to enjoy His mercy throughout our lives.

As we go on in our Christian life, we may try our best not to make mistakes. But although we’re born again and eternally saved, we still have our sinful nature. This causes us to fail and commit sins, even though we don’t want to. When this happens, we must repent and confess that sin to the Lord. This is essential. Confessing is how we’re forgiven and cleansed.

But after we’ve confessed our sins, we still might feel quite low because of our failures, disgusted with ourselves, and even completely defeated. But we don’t have to stay in such a disheartened state. We need to remember that God is always rich in mercy.

At such times, we can be encouraged by Hebrews 4:15-16:

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all respects like us, yet without sin. Let us therefore come forward with boldness to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for timely help.”

Jesus, our High Priest, is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. So even when we’re feeling weak and low, we can come forward boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace.

The first part of note 2 on mercy explains:

“Both God’s mercy and God’s grace are the expression of His love. When we are in a pitiful condition, first God’s mercy reaches us and brings us into a situation in which He is able to favor us with His grace. Luke 15:20-24 tells us that when the father saw the prodigal son returning, he had compassion on him. That was mercy, which expressed the father’s love. Then the father clothed him with the best robe and fed him with the fattened calf. That was grace, which again manifested the father’s love. God’s mercy reaches farther and bridges the gap between us and God’s grace.”

In Luke 15, the prodigal son had utterly failed his father, having squandered his entire inheritance, and was reduced to a pitiful condition. He was in no position to receive anything from his father. But when he returned home, his father’s compassion bridged the gap and reached him. Affectionately receiving his son, the father then clothed him and fed him with the fattened calf.

At times, we also may be in a pitiful condition, and the gap between us and God’s grace seems insurmountable to us. But God’s mercy can bridge that gap and bring us into a situation where we can once again enjoy His grace.

How we can enjoy God’s mercy

The second part of note 2 on mercy gives us a way to experience God’s mercy and grace again and again:

“God’s mercy and grace are always available to us. However, we need to receive and find them by exercising our spirit to come to the throne of grace and contact our High Priest [Jesus], who is touched with the feeling of all our weaknesses. By this word the writer of this book encouraged the wearied Hebrew believers to receive mercy and find grace for timely help, that they might be set upright (12:12).”

On God’s side, His mercy and grace are available to us all the time, but on our side, we must come forward to the throne of grace in order to freshly receive mercy and find grace. We do this by exercising our spirit.

A simple way to exercise our spirit is by calling on the name of Jesus. Romans 10:12 tells us the Lord is “rich to all who call upon Him,” and Psalm 86:5 says, “You, O Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.” We can call quietly or out loud; sometimes when we’re desperate, we may even cry out to the Lord.

How we marvel at this mercy
  So far-reaching and so vast!
It has reached us, e’en the sinners,
  And will ever hold us fast.
From this mercy, from this mercy,
  What can cause us to be cast?

For Thy mercy we are grateful,
  ’Tis so rich, so plenteous!
Thru Thy mercy in redemption,
  Thou hast richly favored us.
If without this, if without this,
  How could we be favored thus?

Oh, Thy mercy, so inspiring!
  Gentle, tender, dear and sweet!
With Thy patience and Thy kindness,
  Us in all our need it meets.
It we treasure, it we treasure,
  Nothing can with it compete.

Father, we enjoy Thy mercy,
  Ever fresh and ever new;
Every morning shed upon us,
  It refreshes as the dew.
How we taste it! how we taste it!
  Giving Thee the praises due.

We can never cease to praise Thee,
  As Thy mercy e’er endures;
All Thy grace and all Thy favor,
  Ever for us it secures.
Trusting in it, trusting in it,
  Thy sure mercy us assures.

(Hymns, number 26, published by Living Stream Ministry)