Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge, until the destroying storms pass by. Psalm 57:1

We ask God for help during life’s most difficult storms.  Yet here the psalmist is asking for mercy.  As I pondered this, I began to ask myself a question:

Why should God respond how I want God to respond?  Why should I expect the

Creator/Redeemer and Sustainer of the universe to help me?  Am I so much better than others that God should help me?  Or is my situation so much worse that God should help me?

Then I thought about it a little more.  God’s help is merciful.  However God responds, whenever God intervenes, it is through God’s mercy.  Often, we do not deserve a blessing, but the Merciful God grants it.  Sometime we really need something, and a Merciful God bestows it.

When we ask for God to do something, to heal someone, to intervene in a situation, we are actually asking for God’s mercy.  And when someone around us has a need, we should show the same mercy to them, no matter if they “deserve” it or not.  Our response does not need to be capitulation on their request, but it should be filled with mercy.

Peace,

Pastor Bill