Imagine if God were not a God of mercy, what would become of us? The story of Jonah is just that - a story of God’s undeserved and immeasurable mercy towards us (Jonah 1-4). We may be familiar with the story of Jonah in relation to him being swallowed by a giant fish because of his disobedience to God. God had told him to go the city of Nineveh and warn the people there that if they did not repent, they would be destroyed. Here’s the thing: Jonah was a Hebrew but these Ninevites were Assyrians, a people who worshiped other gods. 
    Understandably, it did not make sense to Jonah, a Hebrew, to go and warn a heathen nation like the Assyrians. They were, after all, known for their terrible, wicked and evil ways. So, whatever consequences befell them, would be justly deserved. However, according to Isaiah 55:8 God’s ways and thoughts are not like ours. What makes sense to us, He sees in a different light. 
    Interestingly, the Ninevites do listen to Jonah when he finally goes and warns them about their imminent destruction. Everyone, including the king, covers himself in sackcloth and repents. When God sees their repentance, He relents of His plan to destroy them and instead spares their lives (Jonah 3). Jonah is not at all pleased because he wants them to be destroyed for their wicked ways (Jonah 4). Yet, he misses the point that God desires to save all men, not just His people the Hebrews. 2 Peter 2:9 says: “The Lord is … long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
    When you think about it, if God was willing to forgive and spare Jonah when he disobediently ran away from God, refusing to preach to the Ninevites. Why then should He not in the same way forgive the Ninevites and spare them from the much-deserved destruction that was coming? God’s mercy doesn’t always make sense to us. We are happy when He forgives us of wrongdoing but can’t always understand why He should also forgive someone else for their wrongdoing. We are all undeserving! None of us are more deserving than the next. God’s mercy doesn’t handpick who should be forgiven and who should not. In short, mercy isn’t about us and our worthiness, it’s about God and His love for us!!!
    According to Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on him and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.” I think the key word here is “abundantly.” God does not ration out His mercy. He freely gives it once we turn to Him. That’s what happened with the Ninevites. When they repented, no matter how terrible their sins, God immediately chose to forgive them and spare their lives. The thing is, if God is not a God of mercy, then we would all be destroyed!
    I don’t know what you have done. You may have heard some people say that they have done too much wrong to be forgiven. But, God sees our hearts and hears our cries and is willing to abundantly pardon us. In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus not only heals but forgives a paralysed man. Jesus knew that that man needed mercy as much as he needed to be physically healed. God sees and knows what we need, when we need it. He is not selfish with His mercy. He knows that His mercy brings peace and healing to our lives. Our entire salvation experience is wrapped up in God’s mercy and without it we would be living in hopelessness and despair. 
    So, no matter how unworthy you may feel at times, our God is a God of mercy who is willing and able to abundantly pardon us, to abundantly love us. So, be encouraged!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is a God of mercy, willing to abundantly pardon no matter how underserving you might feel. Once you cry out to Him in repentance, He will respond and He will not withhold His mercy from you. Be encouraged!
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    Some of us may well be familiar with the story of the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4. Because the prophet Elisha was in the habit of relying on the woman’s hospitality whenever he came to her town, she built a room for him where he could rest. Elisha found out that she had no children so, to repay her for her kindness, he promised that a year later she would have a son. His prophecy came to pass.
    One day, her son became ill and died. She told no one of his death, not even his father. Instead, she determined to go to the man of God, Elisha, in hopes of having her son’s life restored. The only thing she replied when asked, was, “It is well” (vv.23b,26b). 
    What I notice here is her determination. She knew what God had done for her and expected that the only one to make it right would be God through His servant. It’s like having a dream and watching it become a reality, then, somewhere along the line watching it die. I think some of us have experienced that. God promised something, He gave us a dream and we watched Him bring it to pass in our lives. But, what happens when along the way, that dream dies? The reality is, many of us would give up. We might even say that it wasn’t God after all or that we made a mistake. 
    What if it wasn’t a mistake? What if it was God all along birthing that dream, that hope, that vision? The woman had to hold on to what the man of God had told her. He had given her a word that she would have a child and it had come to pass. If the word that he had given her came to pass, then God was responsible for giving life to His word once again. She couldn’t do it; her husband couldn’t do it; the man of God couldn’t do it without God. God would have to sustain the word He had given her. 
    She was right, I believe, to say “It is well.” It was well not because of man’s ability to reverse a negative situation but because of God’s ability to do it. Her focus was on the man of God, who could connect with the God of the impossible. She went right back to the one who had given her the word and expected him to do something. Sometimes, we just have to take our eyes off of the situation, that dead dream, that dead hope and keep our eyes fixed on the God who gave us the promise in the first place. God is not going to promise us something and not bring it to pass; He won’t promise something and not sustain His promise.
    She was right to keep her focus and her pursuit fixed on the man of God. We need to do the same. There have been times recently when I would hear God tell me to fix my eyes on Him. He did not want me to focus on the negative situation. That would only serve to discourage me and cause my faith to waver. He wanted me to look to Him, the One who was and is able to reverse, to transform, to fix any situation that comes my way. I have had to learn to trust my Source, and my Source is God, not man, not my ability. 
    I don’t know what dream or hope may have died in your life. You may have given up because the reality of what you see is so powerful and so real. Yet, I encourage you to fix your eyes on the One who is able to reverse, to transform, to fix whatever comes your way. That woman spoke, to everyone who asked, what she expected the man of God to do for her son. By saying “It is well,” she was simply choosing to give them the end of the story, not the place she was in at that moment. And sometimes we just have to look in faith at what we know God has already done instead of the negative state we are in at the moment. That’s called faith.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is the answer to every problem we may face. Once God gives you a promise He will not only keep it but sustain it. No matter what happens to kill that dream, God is quite able to revive it, to give life once more to the word He has promised. Be encouraged!

    In 1 Kings 18 the prophet Elijah experiences a major victory over the prophets of Baal. He sends out a challenge to the children of Israel to either follow Baal or to follow the Lord their God. He instructs the 450 prophets of Baal to build an altar to their god, sacrifice a bull on it and call on him. He in turn would build an altar to his God, sacrifice a bull on it and call on his God. Whichever god answered by fire, would be the true and living God. 
    The prophets of Baal did as instructed and called on their god but nothing happened. Elijah did the same, even going as far as to cover his altar and sacrifice with water. He called on the Lord God and the fire of the Lord fell and consumed everything, even the water. The people had no choice but to acknowledge their God as God. Elijah in turn ordered the slaughter of the 450 prophets of Baal. 
    However, in 1 Kings 19, when queen Jezebel hears about it, she threatens Elijah’s life (v.2). He becomes afraid and runs for his life. But God sustains him on his journey with food and water and leads him to a cave where He speaks to him (v.13). 
    Elijah is afraid and discouraged and asks God to take his life. He complains to God that His people, Israel, have rejected His covenant, torn down his altars, killed all His prophets and are seeking to kill him as well. God in turn directs him to stand on the mountain in His presence because He is about to pass by (v.11).
    After that, three interesting things happen: a mighty wind, an earthquake, and fire. The wind is so strong that it tears the mountain apart then, an earthquake and fire follow. Yet, the Bible says that the Lord was in none of these things. Instead, Elijah heard a still, small voice or as one translation puts it, a gentle whisper (v.12). There are those who have interpreted this experience to mean that sometimes we can miss God’s voice because we are expecting Him to manifest in some mighty way. I agree but something else comes to mind. Elijah knew God’s voice. God did not come to him in a way that would scare him. God knew he was discouraged. He was not going to discourage him further. God knew Elijah needed comfort and assurance. The still, small voice was sufficient for this task. God did not need to show Elijah His might and power, but His love.
    God knows what we need when we need it. If we need love, patience, support, understanding, He will respond accordingly. God is a personal God and He is interested in having a relationship with us. He wants us to trust Him, to depend on Him, to know that He is there with what we need, when we need it. 
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God sees, He knows and He cares. When He comes to you, He comes equipped with what you need because He is concerned about every area of your life. Trust that God understands and trust that His treatment of you will always be based on His love for you. Be encouraged!
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    Trisha battled with a number of issues in her life. She was addicted to alcohol, an atheist and a racist. However, when she cried out to the same God she did not believe in, God gradually turned her life around. He delivered her from alcohol, He brought her to the point where she believed in Him and realised that He was the only One who had the power to bring about much needed change in her life. One final stronghold, however, she had to deal with - that of racism and unforgiveness. This one caught my attention. To make it even more interesting, God sent her to study at a seminary with predominantly black students. Initially she was uncomfortable but she was able to describe it as one of the most transformative and beautiful experiences of her life. It was in that school that God helped her see that everyone was made in God’s image and has purpose and value. As God prompted her, she humbly reached out to various persons in her past and asked their forgiveness.
    Forgiveness is no easy task. It is a choice that goes beyond feelings and emotions. It’s about obedience to God’s Word which encourages us to forgive. It certainly is not accomplished by our own efforts. For some it can be easy to do, but for many of us, it’s downright difficult. Only God can give us the ability to do the impossible. 
    I remember here the story of Joseph and his brothers in the book of Genesis. Joseph was the favoured son of his father, Jacob, because he was born when Jacob was very old (Genesis 37:3). It didn’t help that Joseph had a dream about his family bowing to him. This made his brothers hate him even more (v.5) and when they got the opportunity, they sold him to some Midianite merchants who in turn sold him in Egypt to one of the king’s officials (v.36). While in Egypt, Joseph faced imprisonment and unfair treatment, yet, God’s favour was always upon him. He finally received a promotion that put him in a position to help the same brothers who had mistreated him.
    The bible gives no details about Joseph’s feelings during his ordeal but his choice to show love to his brothers even though they had done him wrong, is a perfect example of his choice to forgive them even though they may not have deserved it. 
    Ironically, that’s exactly what God has done for each of us. He has chosen to forgive us even though we don’t deserve it. He sent His Son, Jesus to die on the cross so that we could escape the consequences of our sinful actions. Forgiveness is not an easy task but it is a necessary one. Many of us struggle with it yet, I have learned that the only One who has the power to help me forgive is God Himself. It’s not something I can easily do on my own. I have struggled for years and even now still struggle  at times, yet, God is teaching me to let things go. The choice to forgive takes a weight off of you. I have experienced this personally. But the reality also is that forgiveness is the basis of our salvation experience. God forgave us and chose to wipe our slate clean. We need to do the same for others and we also need to forgive ourselves. 
    Are you struggling in this area? Ask God for help. We can’t do it on our own. We need God’s enabling power and ability to help us do what seems and feels impossible. It’s not about our ability but God’s. We just have to choose to be obedient to His will and desire to forgive and then trust Him to help us to do it. Even in this, God is able.
    If you have not asked Jesus Christ to come into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God has forgiven us and wants us to do the same for others. Yet, God does not expect us to do it on our own. He knows we need His help and support and is more than willing to help if we would just ask. Trust Him to help you do what seems impossible. Trust that even in this, He is right there willing and able to help you do what He has asked you to do.
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