Mercy-receiving. Mercy-giving. Mercy-living.
This is from a blog called Meetmeinthemeadow by Roy Lessin
(I know nothing about him. I'm just looking at the poem he posted.)
Mercy - Christ showed us the way
With a dead end before us, Christ showed us the way;
When we walked in the nighttime, Christ brought us the day.
With our faces all hidden, Christ carried our shame;
When we felt so unwanted, Christ called out our name.
With a cup that was empty, Christ brought us His well;
When facing destruction, Christ saved us from Hell.
With our fate like a leper, Christ reached out to heal;
When we lived like a phony, Christ brought what was real.
With our fists in defiance; Christ stretched out His hand;
When our footsteps were sinking, Christ helped us to stand.
With no hope of heaven, Christ came from above;
When our hearts were so empty, Christ poured out His love.
*****
Mercy - Christ showed us the way
With a dead end before us, Christ showed us the way;
From Psalm 20:
“May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May He send you help…And grant you support…
May he remember…And accept…
May he give……the Lord saves…he answers…
…we trust in the name of the Lord our God……we rise up and stand firm.”
When we walked in the nighttime, Christ brought us the day.
A consideration:
When you are up against difficulties you are well aware of your powerlessness. You may only be able to see the darkness before you. Don’t look at your own experience. Look at God, whom you need.
(1 Peter 5:7) (That's different than "he cares ABOUT you.")
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”
Matthew 6:34).
When you are fearful, think on these truths:
* “He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:3-4)
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)
60 million Americans suffer from insomnia. (NPR)
May the Lord’s love always be your night song!
With our faces all hidden, Christ carried our shame;
Shame is an intense feeling of angst that makes you wish you could evaporate. It is deeper than guilt. It is not based on having done something wrong so much as a soul ache of being wrong at the core.
When we come up against His pure goodness, what we wanted now makes us feel dirty. When goodness is laced with badness it is easier for us to deal with, but pure goodness is alien to us. We know God is powerful, but to experience that power brings our own insufficiency into the light. We tend to recoil from what we most want.
1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
When we felt so unwanted, Christ called out our name.
Isaiah 49:16 “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (NLT)
God will never abandon you. You are His image-bearer. You are a child of God, created by God, secured, accepted, and valued by God.
With a cup that was empty, Christ brought us His well;
…and His well is His Word…
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
When facing destruction, Christ saved us from Hell.
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes. 5:9)
With our fate like a leper, Christ reached out to heal;
The image we so often have with regard to healing is of our own hands. In hope, we lift our hands to the Lord in desperation, crying out for healing. In prayer, we clasp our hands and beg humbly for His healing. In faithfulness to God, we lay hands on one another to claim the gift of healing. As Jesus walked through the crowds, people strained to reach forth their hands and touch a piece of His robe, in hopes of receiving healing as he passed by.
But this verse portrays the opposite. This verse portrays the true posture of our healing. Christ, is reaching out the Everlasting Hand toward us. Jesus is placing His Mighty Hand on us. The Skilled Hand of the Great Physician is penetrating precisely the area in need of His touch.
So at that point, our posture is to simply open our hands and receive that which He pours out.
When we lived like a phony, Christ brought what was real.
With our fists in defiance; Christ stretched out His hand;
When our footsteps were sinking, Christ helped us to stand.
A local testimony:
There were darker times early on in my Christian walk, when everything seemed to be shifting around me and the shaky foundations on which I'd been relying for so long were suddenly caving in (a spiritual "earthquake" if you will). It was then that I learned to stand on God's promises:
"'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you." (Is. 54:10)
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Ps. 16:8)
"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide, your right hand will hold me fast." (Ps. 139:9-10)
A testimony from Haiti:
Haitians sleeping outside after the earthquake were singing "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand."
With no hope of heaven, Christ came from above;
The flame of hope that is Christ comes to us, out of our pain & out of our deepest misery and sorrow.
There is something beyond us that transcends all of our greatest struggles and pain. This has given me the greatest hope and joy.
When our hearts were so empty, Christ poured out His love.
It is at the times when we feel most defeated, lost and abandoned that we are shown the beauty and hope of His love in a new way. But, sometimes we must pour out ourselves so that we are empty and can let God in. When we are trapped by other desires, other thoughts, other concerns, there is no room for God. We shut Him out of our lives and we are full of the very things which are poisoning us. It is only when we consciously Let Go and Let God that we find freedom.
June,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful post. These poem verses, Scripture verses and reflections on them, should be posted in snippets (but collectively and "connectively" so) on all of the billboards and bridges of the world, in every language, so we all can be transformed!