You Want Mercy, HUH?

Lately in my quiet time God has been  talking to me about mercy.

The verse He used today was:
Hos 10:12  Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy;
break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, 
till he come and rain righteousness upon you. 

The first part of the verse says to "reap in mercy". If you want to reap mercy,
you must first plant mercy. That does not mean that you let people run over you.
It  means that you show mercy to those that need it (or don't deserve it).
So many time we can get bent out of shape if someone wrongs us. Perhaps we
do not see the whole picture. We do not know what they are going through.
Try to put yourself in their shoes. Look at them from God's perspective. 
Maybe they have just had some terrible news. Maybe things are not at
peace in their home and they are acting out by taking it out on you.

My friend and I had a long talk about mercy lately. Someone had wronged me
and I was struggling over it. She said to me, "How many times have I messed
up and you forgave me and we continued being friends? That was mercy." She 
went on to say, "If you want mercy, you must forgive and extend mercy as well
or your Father in Heaven will not forgive you." That one made me think long
and hard! I needed to forgive in order to show mercy. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: 
Matthew 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." 

The dictionary define mercy as:
1. refraining from harming or punishing offenders, enemies, etc.
2. a disposition to forgive or to be kind.
3. Kind or compassionate treatment
*(Webster's New World Dictionary, c.1972 The Southwestern Company, Nashville, TN)

Notice, it says, "blessed" are the merciful.... Jesus is saying that we are to
be blessed. How? Well, to name a few:

• We will have a clear conscience.
• We may make a former enemy become a friend.
• We will be forgiven by the Father in Heaven.
• We will reap benefits of righteousness.
• When we mess up, we will be given mercy and forgiveness.

There are so many stories of people whose have been changed by
someone offering forgiveness and mercy...the unmerited favor and 
kindness to undeserving people. 

None of us deserve God's forgiveness and mercy, yet we freely receive it
from Him. He wants us to extend mercy, too. When we do, we will be blessed.

Further in the verse, it reads " the Lord will rain down righteousness on you".
So, mercy bring forth fruits of righteousness.

Is  there someone in your life that needs mercy shown to them right now?
Grant mercy and you will be blessed beyond measure. Try it and see! 

Seek Him first, show mercy, and reap the righteous results. It is as simple as that.

Thank you for reading.  I would love to read your feedback.

Donna