Several days ago ABC News had a fairly long coverage of Indonesia’s grim situation.  I am sure it is not news anymore to us who have heard about what is happening there.  There is a dearth of oxygen supply, let alone respirators for the very ill.  People are building mass graves to keep up with the number of deaths.  And due to low vaccination rate, there is no hopeful sign as to when the contagion will finally stop, causing many to feel desperate.  Lord, have mercy.

On Friday Tante Agnes felt dizzy and threw up, so she was taken to hospital.  Somehow, she managed to slip out and went missing; the hospital had to even call the police.  Thank God, somebody spotted her, and she was taken back to the hospital.  When I came to pick her up, she just said, “Today I went to the hospital twice.”  Clearly, she had no idea of what had just transpired.  Lord, have mercy.

There are times we pray for mercy because we have sinned against

God.  We pray that He will spare us from the harsh punishment we

deserve.  But there are times we pray for God’s mercy because we

we want Him to spare us from the harsh reality of life.  The good news is He makes no distinction between the two and He hears both prayers.  Life is hard and harsh, but God is good and merciful.

A year before Joni Eareckson Tada found out that she had breast

cancer, her husband, Ken, received the word of the Lord, “Joni is

the most precious gift I have given to you.  Take care of her.”  Not

knowing what to make of it, he told her about it.  Right after they

heard about the diagnosis, the same words came back to him.  God,

out of His goodness and mercy had prepared them for the harsh

reality of life.  You see, we still must face the harshness of life but

we do that by looking at the face of Him who is good and merciful.

Pastor Paul