Grace and Mercy

Grace. Mercy. Most of the time when we see or hear these words, we envision an “after the fact” extension towards someone who has wronged someone else. The Prodigal son (Grace and Mercy); King David (Grace and Mercy); Mary Magdalene (Mercy and Grace). As the gospel song says, “Mercy there was great and grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary.” God is so good and even after the most egregious sin; one can find grace, “getting what we don’t deserve” and mercy, “not getting what we do deserve”.

There is a side to grace and mercy, however that we do not often see, realize or think about. In Hebrews 4, verse 16 we see two sides of grace and mercy. Both are extended but both are also available not only in remedial situations, but are also available for preventative means.

I love it when my children come to me with their problems. There have been times when they’ve come to me and said, “Dad I really messed up and I’m so sorry. Please forgive me!” After pondering on the billions of times God has forgiven me, I’ve quickly and gladly extend grace and mercy when needed.

But there are also times when before they mess up that they come to me for counsel, before doing something that they’d be ashamed of. In those cases grace and mercy act as spiritual guardians.

When a child comes and says, “Dad, I’m struggling with this or that. Help me please.” A loving father would say, “thank you for trusting me and for wanting to do the right thing.” Then the father would impart all of the wisdom and guidance that he could to help his child succeed. He would also provide the means and tools to protect his child from the harm of ever succumbing to that temptation again. His grace – reaching out in love; His mercy – protecting from harm.

Father God extends grace and mercy when we’ve blown it, but He yearns for our “time of need” to be more and more during the battle, not after it. Today, make your way to the throne of His grace and mercy and experience them not only as a healing balm, but as protective coverings from a loving Father.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)