In Your great mercy

Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful. – Nehemiah 9v31

It is only because of the Lord’s mercies that we are not all consumed by His justice and His wrath. Every sin deserves His wrath. Every time we sin we deserve to be cast off, separated, judged, and even destroyed.

He are these people who had been right with God, had done all the good work, had worshipped God, and then returned to their sin. They deserved to be wiped out and God start over again. He could have done that with Adam and Eve. He could have done it with the world of Noah’s time. He could have done it with Israel in the wilderness. He could have done it any number of times when His people turned from He didn’t. His mercy shone through.

I will admit that I don’t understand mercy. It doesn’t make any sense to me. How can a perfect, holy, righteous, and just God who cannot tolerate sin still choose to show mercy?

I don’t know, but He does. He is God, gracious and merciful.

Maybe the fact that I don’t ‘get it’ is part of the reason that it is so truly awesome.