The Beatitudes – Mercy
A Five Minute Devotional
The video shown below is the devotional from November 26th, 2020. The full text of the devotional follows the video.
WELCOME
Hello! My name is Ruth and I would like to welcome you to today’s Good News, Ladies Edition.
INTRODUCTION
Our Scripture verse today is Matthew 5:7
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
The definition of Biblical mercy is God’s pity, compassion and kindness toward people who do not deserve it.
We’ve all heard the story of the prophet Jonah.
And this reminds me of a story.
A young girl and her teacher were arguing about whether humans can be swallowed by whales. Her teacher said that it’s impossible. The little girl said, “How can this be? Jonah got swallowed by a whale; and when I get to heaven, I’ll ask him.” The teacher said, “What if Jonah didn’t go to heaven?” The girl said, “Then you ask him.”
GOD’S MERCY
Jonah was the earliest of the prophets in the Old Testament. God sent Jonah to preach repentance to the Ninevites.
We can learn a great deal about God’s mercy from this story. One thing that really stands out about the story of Jonah is the fact that he heard what God wanted him to do and he did the opposite. Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord.
We may ask ourselves why would Jonah do such a thing? Then we realize that we’ve probably done the same thing at some time in our own lives, maybe even now. Reflecting on the choices we’ve made when we have wanted to do things our own way can create anxiety and sleepless nights. There also may be times where we’ve tried to numb our pain with people or things that are not of God. Afterwards we felt even more empty than we did before. What Jonah should have done and what we should do is repent, humble ourselves and surrender to God’s will.
It’s not always easy to show people mercy. But what we should remember is that whenever we don’t show other people mercy, we are forgetting that we have already been shown such great mercy by God. Jonah should have shown the people of Nineveh mercy because he had already been shown the exact same kind of mercy from God when the whale spewed him out. We all deserve to stay dead in our sins and separated from God forever, but in His mercy, God gives us new life in Christ. God has forgiven us such a great debt and shown us such mercy. How can we not show mercy to others?
How did God react to the Ninevites’ repentance? “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, He relented and did not bring on the destruction He had threatened. God’s righteous anger against Nineveh simply subsided. He observed the change in the people and saw that the punishment He had intended to bring on them would no longer be fitting. Some people may see God as cold, rigid and harsh. But His true character shows that He is indeed reasonable, adaptable and merciful.
When we show mercy, we receive mercy. Jesus also says that “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will Your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.” Mercy triumphs over judgment. If Jonah had the opportunity to reflect on these verses, he may have been able with God’s help to show mercy on the Ninevites. Only the merciful will receive mercy in the Kingdom of God. And the ones who show mercy will reap mercy.
One of the most important lessons from Jonah on God’s mercy has to do with God’s character. When we practice mercy, we display God’s character for everyone around us to see. Jonah calls God “a gracious and merciful God.” Paul says that God’s nature is “rich in mercy.” As Christians, we know that God is making us into the image of His Son and that we are the light of the world. Mercy isn’t something we do simply because we are commanded to do it. Mercy is something we do to reflect God’s character in a worshipful way. God shows us mercy and grace. We should also reflect the same in our lives.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes! He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.”
And that ladies, is today’s good news!
