As I sat this morning praying and talking with God about these wonderful feelings I have going on inside of me,
(LOL)I was reminded of a spiritual gift test I took in the past and completely transparent moment (yall don't judge me), my lowest scoring gift on my test was mercy. I was so sad to see that but also knew it could ring true. My husband and I had a good laugh about it as I can be a little insensitive at times and straight to the point. I have a hard time with the wish-wash, feely feelings etc. I have always been all about the "you have the victory, Christ lives in you! You are set apart, called and empowered by the Holy Spirit, God's grace can take you out of any place, God grace causes change, from glory to glory as we see His face." This all is 100% true at all times. BUT what about the times when our christian brothers or sisters aren't walking in this truth, when I am not walking in this truth?
Grace is the unmerited favor God gives us. We do not deserve it, we cannot work for it, we cannot be good enough for it, it is freely there, freely given, and freely always up for the taking. It is to be embraced and walked in. It is the power of grace that has saved you, set you apart, given you the ability walk as a child of God. In Ephesians, Paul talks about grace in this way, by the gift of God's grace, he was called to be a minister. It is in grace where power is manifested in our lives to be who God has created us to be, to manifest His Spirit and character to this world. It is through the power of grace that we overcome sin, that we love others, that we become servants and experience joy in this crazy life we live in. It reminds me of the scripture that says His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Grace.
Mercy is God's compassion to forgive and withhold punishment for our sins. It was God's mercy that sent Jesus to the cross. He is well aware of our shortcomings, wickedness, can't get it right selves, and the sin that so easily entangles us. In His mercy and awareness of all of this, He sent Jesus, the perfect, spotless, blameless sacrifice who laid down His life for us, paying the price for our sins and dying on the cross so that we would be covered. So that when we go to God asking for forgiveness for our sins, that they are truly forgiven and they are cast as far as the east to the west, removed from us. God forgives and forgets. The Bible says our sins become white as snow! They are removed completely from us. Through God's mercy, His compassion, kindness, goodness, this was done.
Grace and mercy go hand-in-hand. Mercy gives us the ability to be forgiven and redeemed. Grace gives us the ability to act and be transformed.
NOW, back to the entire point of this blog, are you grace or mercy driven? As I was in all my feelings this morning, the Lord reminded me of my lack of mercy. This lack of mercy not only transcends to others at times but as I recognized this morning, I did not extend it to myself. In my grace driven life, I expect transformation, renewal of the mind and heart, not taking for granted what Christ did for us on the cross, wanting to embrace all the grace He has given so freely.
A lot of times, us who are driven by grace, can experience frustration with those who are not living a transformed life, with those who know the truth but do not walk in it, it is not that you judge but your care and passion for others lives to be changed into the wonderful blessing and life God has for them internally and externally over vamps and at times does not come across as very merciful or understanding.
For those driven by mercy, sometimes there is a lack of transformation, but you are just thankful for God's love and forgiveness. You are not frustrated when there is not alot transformation, you are just thankful God forgives you and can easily extend that forgiveness to others knowing God's covered it and thankfully we all will be in heaven one day!
I recognize I am a grace driven girl. There have been some hard decisions and moments in the past year that have left me not fully confident of my decisions, although I do feel they were led by the Holy Spirit, they were still hard and in the process experienced indifferent feelings and heart postures. The leading of the Holy Spirit and grace got me through, but I lost God's mercy for myself along the way. I have recognized in different situations that sometimes people and I, respond in our brokenness. We do things we wish we wouldn't do, we run when we should be still, we speak when we should just be quiet, we think we know when we truly have no idea, we try our best but at times create a mess in ourselves or with others.
As I was thinking about mercy, I thought about my daughters and recognized if they were in a situation and they opted to bow out of the situation gracefully or with no grace because of holes in their hearts or areas they needed some adjusting, woud I rebuke them and reveal the areas where I see there needs to be change? Or would I have mercy and pity that in their brokenness, yes they may not be allowing the awesome thing that God has for them to manifest, but what is more important is their hearts and the healing that can only come through a continuance of God's touch on their lives. God cares about our hearts. He is patient and I don't think he's as interested in what we are doing but who we are being - not a good person, but a filled person, filled with His truth, His love, His healing, His thoughts, His being. I believe God sees us in the same way I see my daughters, if my daughters cannot do something because of issues in their heart, I would not condemn them for not doing the thing - the thing would be the last thought in my mind! Their hearts and my care for the broken things would be the first thought in my mind.
We do not know why people do what they do, whether they are responding from the holes in their heart or maybe it is something the Holy Spirit is actually leading them to do. But the most important thing is that we respond in mercy and grace regardless, for ourselves in these situations, and for others. We do not need to have a say so about what we think, we need to have a knowing about what God is saying to us. That is our business, us and Jesus, not us and everyone else.
So whether if your drive leads to grace or mercy - your drive is easy, it goes without you having to steer it, its there and comes out regardless. Whatever the drive is, take the time to learn to shift gears when it is needed. Some who drive in mercy, may need to switch gears and overcome some things that repeatedly show up in your life or be a good friend and maybe share God's truth that may be painful but will heal a wound or two, and we know you will do it in the merciful way you do! For those driven by grace, shift gears, slow down, be patient extending care and nurture to whatever you may have messed up in your overcoming self! lol. Be patient and merciful to others who may be not as excited about transformation as you and want to process over their struggles for the 100th time.
Walk in grace and mercy. Overcome but know it's okay when you don't.
1 Corinthians 15:10
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me."
Matthew 5:7
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
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