May 24, 2009 God’s Mercy
Today’s Bible Reading: 1 Kings 9; 2 Chronicles 8; Psalm 136; Romans 5
Scripture Focus:
Psalm 136:1 Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Observation:
Psalm 136 recounts the goodness of God from creation on through the history of Israel. After every statement, the Psalmist writes the phrase, “For His mercy endures forever.” Over and over you read: For His mercy endures forever.
Once I saw that the phrase kept repeating, I started to skip over it because I’d already read it several times, and did I really need to read it again? But then I realized that was the point of the Psalm. To repeat it for the sake of emphasis, so I couldn’t possibly miss the point that God’s mercy endures forever!
Application:
Most of today I listened to H Norman Wright speak at the chaplain’s conference about how to help people deal with loss and trauma. During those times it would be easy to lose sight of the fact that God’s mercy endures forever, that he’s still in charge, that he still loves and cares for me in spite of loss or trauma. That’s why I need to cement it in my mind now.
Prayer:
Abba Father, may I cultivate the knowledge of your mercy during times of blessing so I can remember it during times of hardship. For indeed, God, your mercy endures forever.
