CONSIDERING THE MERCY OF GOD...

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• Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

  Psalm 23:6: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

• I speak of mercy as the overwhelming compassion of God, His clemency to us in times of need, whether we deserve it or not.

• A question:

  How do you respond to the word “ mercy”?

  With pity?

  With dread?

  With condescension, as in “ I will never need mercy!”

• May I suggest...the longer you are blessed to live, the more you will need some mercy in your life.

• Some nights, I feel like an evergreen Pine tree, stable in the ground and encompassed by peace. Other nights, I am in a woeful puddle of tears, on my face, weeping before God, overwhelmed yet again and wondering just HOW the hey am I to keep going? The eternal question remains from us sensitive souls who are still too whipsawed by our inner intensity and the pressure of the world and cruelty of darkness: HOW do I do this?

• I have tried and I have tried and I have tried...and had a few successes but not many.

• Mercy...something I wholeheartedly believe all human beings will need in life...some of us “peasants” need it more than others.

• I am one of them, in desperate need of God’s tender hand to deal with being an empath, one who deeply feels the strong emotions of others, especially sorrow, a sponge often overwhelmed by the hard-driving world, flattened by requirements I cannot keep up with. I actually think there are so many of us who, even as we make some modest plods forward, still live so much in survival mode. Perhaps the fact that we feel invisible, shoved aside by the trampling of the mob template, we survive by “cope” and do not seek the spotlight, not remotely. Sometimes I still hide in the cynical cave and the cynic is also very resistant to “depart you, posthaste!”

• This Wednesday as I sat in the Fellowship Hall at my church, waiting for my Brothers and Sisters in Christ to arrive, I began to take notes for this writing piece, as I heard Holy Spirit’s dear voice, telling me that “ mercy and humility go together, are bound together. “ He also said these things:

  ...”Embrace mercy for others as well as yourself! Curb your tongue and think before you speak (and before pressing post!!) Don’t carry burdens, cast them off onto God’s mighty shoulders!” (He repeats these exhortations to me ...more than once...)

• I sure need the core content of this admonition: “Embrace mercy, offer mercy, think before you speak or press post.” We all have days where we feel tempted to “fly off the handle” and say things we regret. I have a legendary sharp tongue! Certainly better to stop at the red light, swat something with a feather, throw a wadded up piece of paper and mutter (or yell!) an ARGH or two instead of saying regretful things to others and even to yourself. That in itself is a kind of mercy. We do not know the repercussions of our negative words hurled...so better to get them out in private and unburden your heart to God instead!

• The mercy of God is unprecedented, unlike anything I have experienced. Not earned...but lovingly bestowed...nothing human comes close.

  How to get through... “life by stumble”...as so many of us do??

  --A map?

  --A trusted guide??

  --Mom and Dad???

  --A teacher of sorts????

  There are too many self-appointed “ tellers” out there...

  “Influencers.” Who appointed them?? I do not need to be “influenced”, I need the counsel of God! I don’t mind learning and some from others ... but I have learned just a bit on my own in 73 rowdy years… from the ancient school of learn by doing, learn by stumble, learn from the unassailable school of hard knocks. Experience is always the best direct teacher...what works or does not work...and is just PLENTY of fun!! ( deep sarc...)

  For ME, MYSELF, AND I, I still resonate with the cynic, way too much! That is near the top of my W.E.W. list of “needs improvement!”

• Coming from my stubborn rebel background...I do not do well being pressured to do things that make no sense to me. My stubborness has also blocked me my whole life and within reason, I am quite certain it has been a contributing factor to some of my troubles over a life-time. My dad was stubborn and sharp as well and I am still too much my dad’s daughter, while retaining my mom’s love and devotion to God and His Son, even after fruitless years fleeing from God (NOT recommended)

• I have certainly lived long enough to have good old hard-headed common sense, an OREGON trait when I grew up.

  God plunked me down in Northern California long ago...essentially for “learn by doing”...and indeed, as visceral as it is...that has been the resultant case.

  Not tidy, not neat, not organized, not always presentable...but sometimes, at least...I can have elements of being, dare I say...unforgettable. From the past, it includes profane, castigating, cynical, demanding, blunt, actually scary ( in youth!), incisive and definitely a small rodent that made loud noise ( you know the one).

• That is likely why I “ took” so quickly to San Francisco back in summer 1979, with a merry band of brigands, a Mercurial city not nailed down or logical, despite the huge sums of $$$ made there. For me as the ARCTIC polar opposite to a dynamic Titan of Industry...that made no sense and yet, I remained there for 31 years!

• Plenty of choices roaming about...

  Oh great, MORE choices!

  We already have so many choices we are expected to make...even on trivial things.

  We don’t live in simple or trivial times. We endure more pressure than any time in world history, often over things I consider unimportant. Thus includes status, money in the bank, location, influence (-er), physical appearance, cars, clothes, professions or jobs, endless delineations that harass and demean for this, that or the other. The message is always the same “You are just NOT OK.” Um, incorrect.

  Good gravy, what’s an empath to do??? Please remain in constant close contact with God, do NOT drift off again! I am not skilled at the money game but survival, yes.

  Mercy...an Eternal presence that is not surface...but Marianas Trench deep...scary deep, a deep that sweeps the proud intellect aside and goes directly to the heart and soul.

  That’s what Christ did, by the way ( oh that...) and He did it with more fire-power than anyone in history. Papa God and His Son do NOT play fair...

  The mercy of God via His Son...the most power for good ever released in human history...when the Creator Himself, because of His incomprehensible LOVE for us humans, sent His Son Jesus Christ, Who allowed Himself to be savagely mauled by His own creation...and the gulf between us and Him was forded and the veil between us, torn from top to bottom!

  I have experienced God’s mercy over me, more times than I can count, at age 73 and this includes these three examples:

  --Experiencing awful grief in my early teens (sudden deaths of both Mom and one brother in 1966 and 1968), I fled from my walk with God... and for 35 years, I was a rebellious and wandering Prodigal. At no time did God NOT call me and call me and call me back to Him...not with condemnation or castigation, but with tenderness and immense love. When I finally, as I say “collapsed on God’s front porch” in serious repentance, He welcomed me back Home and is even today, helping me to rebuild and stabilize my life. He does NOT give up! You cannot win an argument with Papa God! ( I have tried…and failed…)

  --On two different stressful occasions when I lost a place to live due to financial woes, God led me through the wilderness, step by trembling step, with a basic roof, food and opportunity, step by step. At no time was I abandoned. He led me back to stability. No, it was not easy...but He never left me for a moment.

  --NEVER does God “stand over me with a stick” and castigate me for mistakes or blunders. He speaks to me like a beloved daughter and as I sit down and pour out my heart to Him, just as David did in the book of Psalms, I can share my woes with God and He will lead me out, step by step. He listens, he gently nudges in correction and He guides me in the next few steps to take, up and out.

  As the song says, “No God like Jehovah!”

  Indeed.

  Wendy Elizabeth Williams, Friday, November 21, 2025

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