21 Days of Hope

“Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

          I know that some of you believe you deserve punishment or you deserve all the terrible things that have happened to you. For the first ten to fifteen years of my Christian walk, I would find myself, at times, accepting tragedy or hurtful experiences as deserved. I didn’t challenge bullying thoughts of “you deserve this” or “you did something wrong that is why this happened.” I just fully accepted it. I let it torment me when I couldn’t, for the life of me, right a wrong I could not even pinpoint. Here’s the problem with that thinking - It is simply not biblical.

          When God sent his son, Jesus, he did it in His mercy. Mercy led the way and triumphed over judgment. Everything we ever could have deserved as punishment or judgment was literally heaped upon Jesus when he went to the cross. This is a reason to let hope spring up inside of you. Maybe you deserve judgment, maybe the enemy has just bullied you into thinking that. Either way mercy triumphed! 

          The hope in this message is that because of Jesus you have received mercy. God looks at you with mercy, thinks of you with mercy, has plans for you with mercy stamped all over it. You could say, “I don’t deserve…” but mercy. “I shouldn’t get to…” but mercy. “I’ve done xyz…” but mercy. The mercy of God will lead you forward if you will accept it as the gift that it is. Listen, there is no badge or award in heaven for self-deprecation, or inflicting punishment on yourself or allowing the enemy lie. It is just as offensive as sin because it says, Jesus what you did wasn’t enough. It was enough and it did work. Now, receive the gift of mercy and let it stamp every area of your life past, present and future. Mercy triumphs over judgment! Therefore, we have hope.