Unlock the Power of Gratitude: Offer the Hand of Mercy
Did you know the hand of mercy releases the power of gratitude? God’s kindness equips us to spare others the isolation and judgment we deserve.
Maybe you remember playing the hand game Mercy! It’s terrible, and not a “game” at all!
Two people interlace their fingers and on “go,” they squeeze and try to out-knuckle and overpower each other’s wrists until one person finally hollers Mercy!
I remember playing with a friend who often promised to let go but didn’t. She’d push my wrist to the point of pain despite my pleas for mercy. Like Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid movies, she showed no mercy in the face of my weakness.
A Parable of Mercy
It reminds me of a parable Jesus told of the unmerciful debtor.
The man’s debt was steep and his situation impossible. Unpaid debt carried no mercy and serious consequences. Not only for the person indebted but also for his family. In the hands of an unmerciful lender, they too who would often be enslaved until the debt was paid in full.
In desperation, the human in Jesus’ parable threw himself at the mercy of his employer, begging for a compassionate response. Relief and instantaneous joy flooded the room as the man left. He was released and forgiven the millions-dollar debt he never could have paid back.
Have you ever felt the weight of a tremendous burden lifted?
Maybe a child whose medical bills were covered by a generous donor. Groceries secretly deposited at your door when no one knew the emptiness of your shelves. Perhaps there was a time when someone you love, chose to forgive you when they had every reason not to.
This was the man’s reprieve.
But as quickly as compassion brought freedom, forgetfulness ushered in the man’s prison sentence.
Another bloke owed him a far lesser sum, enough to buy a broken-down used car. When begged for mercy, the millions-dollar debtor summoned his inner Cobra Kai and showed no mercy in return.
Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, “You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?” Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. Matthew 18:32-34
Mercy’s Forgetfulness
How often do we forget the mercy shown to us, while insisting on better choices from those around us?
In our hurry and rush-around-pace to make everything picture perfect, we answer in polite-yet-clipped tones.
- Not those dishes.
- The glasses get placed on this side.
- Where’s the parsley you were supposed to get? (Isn’t it always the parsley that gets forgotten!)
- Not that cranberry sauce. (It has to have the canned ring impressions on the sides.)
We note clothes cluttering the bathroom floor, ignorant to the pile of our own apparel carelessly tossed on a rocking chair.
When someone asks for help with something they “should” know how to do, we follow up with a not-so-humble heaping of shame to do it better next time. All while having amnesia for the hundreds of things we’ve gotten wrong.
Paul Tripp’s Daily Thanksgiving Devotional on the YouVersion App describes this blindsiding habit as “mercy forgetfulness.” We forget God’s mercy toward us while spotlighting the brokenness of those around us.
We all do it.
But the wrist can only bend so far back before it begins to break.
The Hand of Mercy
In contrast, the compassion of God calls us to mercy–sparing one another from the isolation and judgment we deserve.
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32
To offer the hand of mercy requires us to do two things:
- Remember how much you’ve been forgiven by God.
While the turkey defrosts and the rolls thaw, consider where God has been gracious to you.
Literally, write it down.
Speak it out loud.
Turn your remembrances into a prayer of gratitude.
Use Psalm 118 as your template.
After each offense you remember, follow with the phrase His faithful love endures forever.
Hand of Mercy tip: Carve out time to do this in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, literally while the turkey thaws.
- Remind yourself what’s true about God and the person in front of you.
Before responding to the chaos, the kitchen failure, or the relational breakdown in front of you, take a deep breath and utter these words:
I belong to You, Lord. And so does _____. Unlock in me the power of gratitude in You.
Hand of Mercy tip: It’s okay to pause and utter this prayer in front of and even with the “offending” person. Allow this restart toward mercy something you share together.
Unlock the Power of Gratitude
Sometimes, pleas for mercy hide behind a cautious smile or a tentative approach. Other times, mercy’s need is more obvious–like when a wrist buckles from too much pressure.
Either way, mercy is God’s invitation to bless rather than inflict further pain. When our hands choose mercy, God’s compassion unlocks the power of gratitude. Theirs and ours.
Why? Because we’re no longer grasping the “right” to rub it in or highlight another’s weakness.
Instead, mercy holds onto God’s view of the person in front of us. A person for whom God desires freedom rather than indebtedness and prison.
Put together, we unlock the power of gratitude as we offer the hand of mercy.
A Thanksgiving Prayer
Join me in this Thanksgiving Prayer that moves us beyond forgetfulness to mercy to unlock the power of gratitude.
God of Mercy,
You look at me with joy and delight. You pour out grace upon mercy, releasing me from what I deserve. You look past my judgments, my impatience, my short-sightedness.
I deserve a pointed finger and a harsh response, but You welcome me with a gentle voice and an understanding embrace.
In my rush-around toward Thanksgiving, quiet me with Your kindness. Make me tenderhearted toward those around me. Remind me of Your mercy toward me, that I would be merciful toward them.
Make this a Thanksgiving I can be proud of. And when it isn’t, help me return quickly.
I am Yours, Lord, and so are they. Amen.
Happy Thanksgiving, dear reader. I thank God for you and our grace-growing community as we pursue real grace for our real lives.
Jennifer
P.S. You can find Paul Tripp’s Daily Thanksgiving Devotional here.