Thank Goodness for Mercy

by Susan Dollyhigh –

It 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.

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV

Moca’s sad, weak eyes looked up at me conveying her discomfort while her head, seemingly too heavy to lift, remained on the floor. My miniature dachshund’s brown tail that usually wagged upon seeing me lay limp. Moca, who had feasted on a delectable baby bird, was now paying the price with what I thought was just a bad tummy ache. After a couple of days with no improvement, I gathered Moca’s ten-pound body and carried her to the car. She lay still in my arms even as I walked into the vet’s office where she usually tried to escape the upcoming torture by running the other way. Upon examining Moca, Dr. Truban diagnosed pancreatitis and immediately hospitalized the sick puppy.

After a week of IV fluids and antibiotics, Moca was allowed to come home but had to return to the vet for weekly check-ups and blood work. Dr. Truban, who’d taken care of Moca, was usually available for these appointments but one day was out of the office and his partner, Dr. Brinegar, filled in for him.

“What’s going on with Moca?” Dr. Brinegar asked as he walked into the exam room.

“Well, Moca ate a baby bird a few weeks ago and…”

Dr. Brinegar’s eyes grew wide with dismay and he looked first at Moca and then back at me. “I love birds,” he said. “In fact, I love those feathered creatures so much I even specialized in birds in vet school.”

Looking at Moca I thought, You, Puppy, could be in big trouble. The man who holds your very life in his hands loves birds. And he knows you ate one.

Knowing that Moca brought this illness upon herself and that she did so by ending the life of an innocent baby bird could have impacted the amount of compassion Dr. Brinegar had on Moca. His mercy level could have plummeted upon hearing this dreadful news. But it didn’t. Dr. Brinegar gently picked up the guilty puppy. “Come here, Girl. Let’s see how you’re doing.” It was soon evident Dr. Brinegar didn’t care what sin had gotten Moca into her predicament; he only wanted to help her get well. Thank goodness for mercy.

Aren’t we glad that the One who holds our very life in His hands has the same kind of mercy on us? In the Old Testament book of Psalms, King David, whom God referred to as a man after His own heart, cried out to God for mercy after a time of great sin in his life. King David’s affair with Bathsheba led to the subsequent murder of her husband Uriah. Sadly, the child born of this affair died and as a result of all of this, King David ended up a broken man. But King David knew his healing could only come from God and he cried out in Psalm 51:1, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.”

When we, like King David, go to the Lord and confess our sin, the details could affect the amount of compassion God has on us. His mercy level could plummet upon

hearing the dreadful news. But it doesn’t. He gently pulls us into his arms. “Come here, my child. Tell me all about it.” It’s soon evident Our Father only wants to heal us from our sin and restore us to a right relationship with Him. Thank goodness for mercy.

Blessings,

Susan D.

Our Father, thank you for Your mercy. Thank you that it is new every morning. Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto us.