His Mercy!
Psalms 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”
If many of you are NFL fans, then I am sure you are familiar with the current saga concerning player #81 of a specific team. I dare not take sides in the issue, simply because I do not know the whole truth of the matter. However, there is one thing I did notice regarding this situation that I wanted to share with you.
You see, #81 said a few things that did not sit well with his teammates and superiors. From what the media has told us, team management demanded an apology, which #81 gave, but unfortunately, he missed the appointed “deadline.” His apology was too late! This infraction coupled with previous issues/problems involving the player prompted the organization to ban him from playing for the team.
Again, I am not judging anyone, nor am I taking sides in this matter. However, it’s not hard to see the similarity in this particular saga that we all face. Many of us have been hurt by friends, family, loved ones, and even strangers. In an effort to right the wrong, if we could, many of us would not only demand an apology but also insist that they apologize to us when, where, and how we wanted them to. But even if we are entitled to an apology and even if we are justified in demanding the circumstances under which the apology should be given, what happens if they don’t deliver – – – “on time” or at all? Would those people who offended you, cursed you out, hurt your feelings, used you, stole from you, or stabbed you in the back find mercy?
I am thankful that I serve a God who is merciful, not just when He wants to be but also when I need Him to be. Psalms 86:5 tells us “that the Lord is Good and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy to all that call upon Him.” Quite honestly, I know that in the past, I have hurt people, used people, and been just down right wrong, and for those misdeeds, I am truly sorry. But I also know that the God I serve has forgiven me, even when I didn’t go to Him the same day or even the next day after the offense. My assurance in His mercy affirms that WHEN I WENT TO HIM, He forgave me! And for those times when I did not feel I was entitled to His mercy, Lamentations 3:22-23 tells me that “[i]t is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
This day, God gave us another chance to call on the name of Jesus (which is the name above every name) and to be forgiven – – – in spite of what we did ten seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or years ago. Yes, beloved of God, you did not miss the deadline! Today is not too late to ask for forgiveness and have your sins cast into the sea of forgetfulness. How do you know this? Because you are alive to see this day and that is proof positive that He desires you to have one more chance to be forgiven. Thank God for His Mercy!