Devos for may 24th (by Jordan W.)

“His mercy endures forever” (Psalms 136)

Some songs get stuck in your head and others get stuck in your heart.  This was the case for Israel in Psalms chapter 136.  Stubborn Israel, whose unfaithfulness was at times legendary, takes to heart the great mercy that God had shown them.  And, they don’t just sing it, they proclaim it over and over again.

The song describes every significant event in their history and after each event, they proclaim, “His mercy endures forever”.   But, was it really necessary for them to say it 26 times in 26 verses?  To them it was, because the mercy of God trailed their every step.  His mercy defined them as a nation.

It was mercy that compelled Him to strike Egypt and lead his people out of bondage.

It was in mercy that He divided the waters of the red sea so that Israel could cross safely.

It was His mercy that provided His people a land that they could call their own.

But, that was all in the past and they were not just talking about the past.  They said that “His mercy endures forever”.  And long after this song was written, the world saw His enduring mercy again.  They saw it when He opened the eyes of the blind man, touched the leper, befriended the outcast, restored the cripple, raised the dead, and died alone on a cross for you and for me.  Mercy, always mercy and it endures forever…  Even now.

There are times when our feet tread in places so dark that we are ashamed to admit that we have been… “ His mercy endures forever”.

There are times when our temptations consume us and the enemy wins…  “His mercy endures forever”.

There are times when we are no better than the Romans who struck him or Peter who denied him, and for all of these times and more… “His mercy endures forever”.

No matter where we find ourselves and no matter what mess we got ourselves into, we need to hear these words, we need to cling onto them and know that He is not willing to give up on us.  Let these words get stuck in your head like the chorus to your favorite song.  “His mercy endures forever”.  And as you cling onto these words for this moment, know that after you are gone they will still trail off into eternity.

Prayer:

Please remind us daily that your mercy goes deeper than our deepest, darkest sin.