Thank Goodness for Mercy

By Susan Dollyhigh –

Moca, my miniature dachshund, spent a week in the animal hospital recovering from pancreatitis. Afterwards, when I took Moca to the vet for a check-up, Dr. Brinegar asked,
“What’s going on with Moca?”

“Moca ate a baby bird,” I said.

Dr. Brinegar looked first at Moca and then at me. “I am an avian veterinarian, and I love birds,” he said.

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

The vet’s knowing that Moca brought this illness upon herself by ending the life of an innocent baby bird could have impacted Dr. Brinegar’s compassion for my poor puppy. His mercy level could have plummeted upon hearing the dreadful news.

But it didn’t.

Dr. Brinegar spoke tenderly to the guilty puppy. He gently examined her belly. I think he cared…but he just didn’t judge what sin had gotten Moca into her predicament; he wanted to heal her and restore her to her loved ones.

Thank goodness for mercy.

Aren’t we glad that the One who holds our life in His hands has mercy on us?

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 committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed in battle. The child born of this affair died, and King David was a heartbroken man for a time.

But King David knew his healing could only come from God and he cried, “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 God and confess whatever sin has gotten us into a predicament, thankfully, the details do not affect the amount of compassion God has for us. His mercy level does not plummet upon hearing the dreadful news.

God speaks tenderly to our guilty spirit. He gently examines our heart. Regardless of the sin that has gotten us into our predicament, Our Father wants to heal us and restore us to a right relationship with Him.

Thank goodness for mercy.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for mercy, and unfailing love that You have for us.

I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you” (Psalm 41:4 NIV).