Merciful God

He is so patient with me. Amos 7 was my Bible reading this morning and WOW did it speak to me. My grumbling about a situation, in which I am sure the Lord is being merciful, is such a slap in the face to Him. Our lives, justifiably, could be truly devoid of all love and mercy. Yet, my life overflows with evidence of His extended mercy and grace. The Lord's mercy is new every day..continually, He shows His mercy. This morning, as I read Amos, I didn't "get it" or how it applied to me...I then, with some prompting, read the commentary on it by Matthew Henry, got some context, and read it again. I am so grateful that I was given a closer look.

The following is an excerpt from the commentary.. "Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, [it was] the latter growth after the king's mowings. And it came to pass, [that] when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord GOD, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he [is] small" Amos 7:1-2

Read on for an excerpt of the commentary that I read concerning these grasshoppers that were made for a specific task and that they were limited as to what rather,when they would devour the king's field.this link expounds on Chapter 7.

"God could have sent these insects to eat up the grass at the beginning of the first growth, in the spring, when the grass was most needed, was most plentiful, and was the best in its kind; but God suffered that to grow, and suffered them to gather it in; the king’s mowings were safely housed, for the king himself is served from the field.... But the grasshoppers were commissioned to eat up only the latter growth (the edgrew we call it in the country), the after-grass, which is of little value in comparison with the former. The mercies which God give us, and continues to us, are more numerous and more valuable than those he removes from us, which is a good reason why we should be thankful and not complain. The remembrance of the mercies of the former growth should make us submissive to the will of God when we meet with disappointments in the latter growth. The prophet, in vision, saw this judgment prevailing far. These grasshoppers ate up the grass of the land, which should have been for the cattle, which the owners must of course suffer by."

I read the whole chapter, but the two verses, 1 and 2 of chapter 7, contain such a loving act of a merciful God in the midst of judgement on a wicked people..I had to share it. How can my heart cry out of one complaint when it deserves an eternity in hell...I am living a life crucified with Christ, why do I expect to never be challenged in my growth? Why do I give an ear to the lies of the evil one...it breaks my heart that I listen for even a moment, much less the hour of self pity thoughts I allowed when I wrote the post below. My heart truly breaks when I am given light to the great mercy I am being shown and then directed to the neglected river of grace that is continually given for my personal use during a trial. I *am* a great sinner saved by Grace and that.is.all.-how soon I forget. God is Good and only in Christ is found the abundant life. I am not to just "get through it" I need to rise up, drink from the abundant river of Grace, and I should *want* to sing praises in the midst of my trials...THAT is the abundant life Christ hides in the cleft of the rock. Not that I am hidden from sight-my children and those around me are watching...but may I be hidden from any evil that would hinder my ability to give Glory to God and praise Him. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world, so there is never an excuse to be defeated in my trials- He has already won! Though the storm rages about me, I can Praise Him through a life hid in Christ :) Thank you for your prayers which no doubt lifted "...my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help, my help cometh from the Lord..." Psalm 121:1-8 :)