THE MERCIES OF GOD – PART 2
TEXT: ROM. 9:15 - For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."
We have a God who is rich in mercies and generous in compassion. The extent and dimension of the mercies of God cannot be fathomed and conceptualised by any human mind. It is immeasurable and beyond description by any human word. In addition, His mercies cannot be bought. Also, no one can deny the existence of the Mercies of God. That is why God has not destroyed man inspite of his numerous sins. Psa. 78: 38 says “yet He was merciful; He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them. Time after time He restrained His anger and did not stir up His full wrath” (NIV). No wonder in Rom. 9:16 the bible says “It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy” (NIV).
In Lam. 3: 22 – 23, we read that the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (ESV). From this passage we realise that the steadfast love of our God is everlasting and His mercies is constant. Unlike men, He never gets tired of doing goods. No matter how close you may be to a person, if you continually go to the same person for all your needs, a time would come when they would get wearied and start avoiding you or start giving you what is known as promissory notes (a sign that they are tired of you). Even, when some may not say it through their words, they may begin to show it in their actions. If you are someone who has a pride or who has some dignity, that would be the time for you to recognise the fact that you are no longer welcome.
This is where God is different from man. The bible informs us that our God promised that He would have mercy on whom He would have mercy upon. The bible also says that His mercy never come to an end. Why is this possible? This is possible because His mercies are new every morning. What does that tells us? It means that God never count His mercies of yesterday when He is dealing with you because they are new every morning. This means that when you wake up on any morning (which in itself is an act of His mercies) you wake up to another day of His unlimited mercies. That is why it is also important that each time you wake up, you make sure that you renew your covenant relationship with Him. As it has always been said, you cannot go to God on yesterday’s righteousness but rather on new and everyday righteousness.
No wonder David said in Psa. 103: 1 “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His mercies endures forever. Brethren, are you ready to give thanks to the Lord? Do you think He has shown you His mercy? Can you see His mercies in where you are today? Dear reader let us begin to count His merciful acts in our life. You may not yet be where you hope to be or the best you can be but I am convinced that God has been merciful to you and me. His mercies have endured in your life.
Beloved, I enjoin you to join the Psalmist today and declare according to Psa. 89:1 that “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations” (KJV). May the mercies of God not depart from you in Jesus name. Amen.
Shalom.
Dr. Yinka Okude
Pastor-in-Charge
RCCG Jesus Sanctuary, Northampton