I grew up in a liturgical church tradition, where each week there was a time of corporate prayer with an open mic for sharing requests and praises. After each person finished, the congregation responded, “Lord, have mercy.” Now I live in the south, where it’s not uncommon to hear a “Lawd have mercy” outside of church, although usually it has little to do with the Lord.
Maybe you’re more familiar with the phrase “at the mercy of” which means to be in a situation where you can’t prevent yourself from being harmed by something outside your control. We’re all living at the mercy of something outside our control these days.
I don’t know about you, but I have a deep longing for mercy right now. I hear the stories of suffering and sickness, see the prediction charts and difficult decisions and I cry out, “Lord, have mercy!” But my need for mercy is nothing new. It’s just my awareness of my need, my hunger for it, that’s fresh in my mind. Because mercy is more than just pity or sympathy. It’s the expression of compassion to someone who you have the power and the right to punish.
Without mercy, I never had a chance.
But there’s good news. Mercy is who God is. He isn’t blind, unmoved or indifferent to our physical, emotional, mental or spiritual desperation (Exodus 3:7). Does He see what’s going on? Yes. Does He even care? Absolutely. “In all their suffering he also suffered, and he personally rescued them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years” (Isaiah 63:9).
Mercy is illogical and unreasonable and it comes at great cost. And it changes the equation. It alters the outcome. In the face of these incomprehensible, impossibly big challenges and troubles, what more could we ask for than mercy? Oh Lord, have mercy!
O my God, listen to me and hear my request. Open your eyes and see our wretchedness… We do not ask because we deserve help, but because you are so merciful. Daniel 9:18