God's mercy never fails!

    In 1 Chronicles 21, king David is moved by Satan to take a census of Israel. His decision so displeased the Lord that He gave David three options for punishment: three years of famine, three months of being destroyed by their enemies or three days during which God would send a plague on the land. David decided that it would be better to fall into the hands of God instead of the hands of men because he knew God would be more merciful. 
    The Lord sent a plague and seventy thousand men died. The Lord then sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. However, as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented of the destruction against them. He commanded the angel to stop. When king David saw this, he repented of his wrong and asked God to remove the plague from the people and to put the punishment for his sin on him and his family instead. 
    At the place where the angel was stopped - the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite - David was commanded to build an altar to the Lord. He obeyed and sacrificed burnt and fellowship offerings and called on the name of the Lord. The Lord answered with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering and commanded the angel to put away his sword.
    What I find interesting about this story is the fact that the Lord relented and commanded the angel to stop the plague. It is not the first time, however, that the Lord relented of some punishment he had sent out. However, what caught my attention was the reality that God relented of His own accord. Yes, David had requested that he fall into the hands of God rather than men. But, what David also says next was a precursor to what actually happened: “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands” (v.13). David understood and trusted in God’s mercy. He knew man would not be merciful to him but God would. He was confident that at some point in time, God would be merciful to him and his people.
    Here’s the thing. As the plague progressed, God did not wait for anyone to pray. God did not wait for anyone to beg for mercy. God chose to stop the plague of His own accord. God chose to show mercy of His own accord. Have there been times when you knew God was merciful to you even though you didn’t deserve it? Maybe you didn’t even bother to pray or even ask for mercy because you knew that whatever came your way would be justly deserved. But, when God chose to show you mercy, you may have felt overwhelmed because you knew it was because of Him not because of anything you had done. 
    God is mercy. God is love. He acts based on who He is, not necessarily based on man’s intervention. That reality should be a source of comfort and encouragement to many of us. It should even motivate us to just want to live right, want to make better choices. Maybe we can testify of times when we were in a difficult situation and we did not even have time to offer a prayer but God showed up anyway and brought us through. I can testify of that. When faced with a challenging situation, I did not even think of praying. It was the furthest thing from my mind. I was just focused on finding a way out of it. But suddenly, out of nowhere, God showed up and brought me through. There was no intervention of prayer on my part but God showed up anyway. He chose to. That’s who He is!
    God is mercy. God is love. When He is merciful it is because He chooses to show mercy. When He shows love it is because He is love. He cannot be different from who He is. And we can’t make Him into what He is not. So, be encouraged. As a child of God, you are in safe hands.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God loves us enough that He is willing to show mercy even when we don’t deserve it. Trust that God’s mercy will go above and beyond because He wants the best for us. His mercy never fails!

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