When Mercy Goes to Work
22. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him saying, “Have Mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.”
26. But He answered and said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.”
27. And she said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, “O woman, great is your faith: be it unto you even as you will.” And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Matthew 15:22, 26-28
How Do We Call for Mercy?
The word “mercy” is found hundreds of times throughout the Bible and was always used in the context of a great need that only God could answer. Mercy is used over one hundred times in the Psalms and in Psalms 118 and 136 it is repeated as a chant, “His Mercy endures forever.” What is it about God’s Mercy that makes it the cry of those who recognize that they have a need that only God can provide the answer? What does this Mercy mean? More importantly, how can we recognize God’s Mercy as the answer for our own life?
The Hebrew word for ‘mercy’ relates to kindness being shown to someone or something that is inferior. It is an act of stooping down or bending to favor something that is in distress. King David, in his Shepherd Psalm said that “surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” He was confident that God’s Mercy would never fail. He was certain that God’s Mercy was sufficient for any need that he would encounter. Based on these Bible references, we can conclude that Mercy is given freely to those in need. We can conclude that Mercy comes from God, even though God uses others as agents of Mercy. We can also conclude that Mercy is not earned or is something that can be compensated. When God has Mercy, there is no way that the recipient can repay the act of kindness.
Like the stranger from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, we all need God’s Mercy whether we realize it or not. I have found that the plea for God’s Mercy is so significant in prayer for two reasons. First, we don’t always know what we need and so the plea for Mercy covers everything. It is to this point that every believers needs to have a clear understanding of what God’s Mercy entails. Never should we pray and say “Lord have Mercy” out of frustration or fear. Our cry for God’s intervention should always be expressed with boldness and confidence that God will provide. The troubled mother in this verse had a great need but her plea was that Jesus would intervene and bring deliverance. In other words, she believed that Jesus was well able to bring her daughter out of the torment she was living in. Lord have Mercy meant that she knew that God was able. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him saying, “Have Mercy on me, O Lord, Thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.” Rather than going through a long discourse of how God should meet her need, she simply cried out for Mercy. The woman wanted Jesus to cover that situation with His Mercy.
The second reason for praying for God’s Mercy is because we don’t feel that we deserve God’s Favor. Not only is there a feeling of helplessness based on the need, but we carry a lot of “shame-facedness” and utter unworthiness before God. While it is true that believers should recognize who they are in the sight of God, it is also true that God does not grant Mercy based on spiritual status. Mercy is always God’s Pity, God’s Kindness, and God’s overwhelming Compassion on those He bestows His Favor. This woman recognized that she was a stranger and had no legitimate rights to ask anything from God. She did not allow that to deter her from praying. She did not demand that Jesus perform a miracle. The woman did not even state a time for Jesus to answer her need. She simply prayed, “Lord, have Mercy.” Jesus even responded, It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. She did not argue but kept her position of faith. And she said, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” She knew she needed Mercy and she also knew who was handing out Mercy. She persisted in her plea, Lord have Mercy.
Why Do We All Need God’s Mercy?
We need to be reminded that God’s Mercy is always available. We also need to be reminded that we will always need God’s Mercy. Dr. David Jeremiah brings out the fact that the theme of God’s Mercy needs to be repeated over and over again. It should be the heart-beat of our existence for we can do nothing without God’s Mercy. We would be nothing without God’s Mercy. We certainly, would never get anywhere without God’s Mercy. Some hold to the view that God’s Mercy is shown when God does not give us what we deserve in way of punishment. The Bible does not rule that out, but also demonstrates how God bends low to meet the needs of His People in troublesome times. It is not just when they have been rebellious but also when they are placed in hopeless situations.
The Mercy of God is extended to the drunk as well as to the sober person. Why? Because they both need God’s Mercy. God’s Mercy is given to the rebel when he repents as well as to the righteous. None of us can live without Mercy. God’s Mercy is for the rich and the poor. God’s Mercy is for the one that acknowledges God and for the one that denies God. Every day that we get up, we are introduced to “brand new Mercy.” If you ask me, what blood is to the body, Mercy is to all of life. We are in constant need of God’s Mercy because life is impossible without it. No wonder the writer of Psalm 136 repeated it over and over that God’s Mercy endures forever. Let me conclude by giving three general areas where we can apply God’s Mercy to daily life.
First, life’s demands will be more than what you are capable of giving. This woman from Tyre and Sidon was living with a hopeless situation. Her daughter was taken hostage by a demon. This situation was not only destroying her daughter but her life as well. When she heard about the miracles of Jesus, she felt in her heart that there was hope. It just so happen that Jesus was passing through that region so she took advantage of the occasion and paid the Lord Jesus a visit. Life is going to always be demanding. It is much like the use of your debit or credit card. Whenever you need something you simply swipe the card but you also know that for every swipe, there must be something in the account to cover the cost. When we find God’s Mercy, we are well able to meet every demand of life because of the endless supply of God’s Kindness. As a matter of fact, God has brand new Mercy for every day that we live, according to Jeremiah in Lamentation 3:22. We may as well admit it early that Life is going to get bigger than you. Life is going to demand more than what you have the ability to pay. As with the woman from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, we simply need to call out to Jesus and ask, “Lord have Mercy.”
Second, we all must come to the realization that no matter how good we are we will all make mistakes that we cannot get ourselves out of. In those cases, we decide or we take an action that is against God’s Will. Sometimes we are aware of the error ahead of time and sometimes it takes a while before we realize what we have done. Either way, the situation has caused some damage that we must live with. What do we do in those stressful times? We must ask God to have Mercy. In the Old Testament, King David, a man after God’s own heart, made a dreadful decision to sleep with a woman that was not his wife. One bad thing led to another and David decided to have her husband killed in order to hide his sin of adultery. When confronted with his sin, David cried out to the Lord, “Have Mercy upon me.” Did God have Mercy on David? The answer is a resounding yes, David wrote in Psalm 32:1-2, blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered … blessed is the man unto whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. God will have Mercy.
The third need for Mercy stems from the fact that Dangers will always threaten to destroy you. Whether that danger is health related, financially related, or may involve our family relationships, the threats are real. Imagine for a moment the deteriorating relationship between this woman and her daughter. She was overwhelmed and desperate to find answers. Listen, none of us can control the next five seconds of our life much less the environment in which we live. We are in constant need of God’s Intervention. That is when Mercy shows up. When Jesus granted the woman her request, He gave her nothing more than His Word. But while Jesus assured her that her request was granted, Mercy went to work in her daughter’s life. You can’t see Mercy but you will know when it has moved to turn things around. Mercy does not leave a calling card, but you will know that its presence is real. When the woman got home, she found her daughter completely well because Mercy had restored her to health. (Mark 7:30).
The greatest outpouring of God’s Mercy was on Calvary. Mercy was on the move when Jesus stooped low to bear the sin of all the world. Mercy took the nails. Mercy took the shame. Mercy took my transgressions and carried them away forever. Mercy there was great and Grace was free. Pardon there was multiplied to me. There my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary. There Mercy paid it all. Thank God for Mercy.