Thanking Him For Mercy

by Audrea Winbush Lott
EnlightenedPath@comcast.net


1 Timothy 1:12-14

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. NIV

In this passage Paul is taking time to point out that despite what he was, who he was, what he was doing in his past, God saw fit to not only rescue/save him, but to put him to work on behalf of the Kingdom of God. At times, the enemy will attempt to play with our minds and remind us of how awful our past was. We see here that Paul acknowledges that he had done some awful things in ignorance, but now the same God against whom he was working in the past is the same God who entrusted him with the awesome responsibility of teaching, training, nurturing, encouraging, and building the early church.

Don’t allow your past to haunt you. Instead, when thoughts arise about what took place in the past, take time to have a personal, private “thank you session” acknowledging God’s mercy and grace that has been shown towards you. Use your past to benefit the kingdom. Because we have been shown so much mercy and grace, we should readily reach out to others and tell them of the redemption plan God has for their lives. We don’t even have to worry about what to say or how to say it. We can just tell others what He’s done for us. God needs our voices. He needs us to be willing to be used as instruments through which He can work to bring others to Him. People will listen to those to whom they can relate.

God has strengthened you to be a witness for Him. His grace, faith, and love have been poured out upon you in abundance. How can you contain it? How can you keep it to yourself? Instead of dwelling on the past in a negative, nonproductive way, thank God for mercy and allow it to compel you to go win others for Him. What an awesome way to thank Him for His mercy… Bringing others to Him!

Prayer: “Father, thank you for the abundance of mercy that you have shown me. Help me use what you have done for me to compel others to come to You. Amen”

The Enlightened Path Weekly Nugget
Week of October 18, 2009

Thanking Him For Mercy
by Audrea Winbush Lott

© 2009 Audrea Winbush Lott

Please feel free to copy or forward this to anyone you feel might benefit from a dose of the Word!