January 30, 2013 - Wednesday

By: Jennifer Ellis

Luke 10:36-37

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

Showing mercy is my new assignment and I need a heaping dose of God's grace to do it. I find that often, I judge others in all kinds of situations, but especially at work. In my workplace, we have had many changes, dealt with difficult circumstances and are stressed by increased workloads with less pay. Our morale has suffered. Even though we work in a Christian workplace, we are subject to many of the same hardships as secular workplaces. We have weathered a lot together and share a passion for the work we do for the Lord, yet we have struggled with our brokenness.

When we are overwhelmed with tasks, it is easy to feel irritable. We become less tolerant of others' mistakes, yet want others to be tolerant of ours. We become fearful, short-tempered and judgmental. Mercy is far from our hearts during such times. It has been this way in the past in my workplace. I have definitely contributed to the negativity.

Thankfully, after a time away on vacation and being reminded through the scriptures of our need for mercy, I was ready to make a change. I started praying for mercy, reflecting on God's mercy and his call to each of us to be merciful. I even wrote "Mercy" in red letters on my whiteboard as a reminder. At the time of my writing this, after some stressful communication with a colleague, I put mercy into action. Instead of responding with irritability and intolerance about my needs not being met, I asked what I could do to help. It was a small act, but I have faith that every small act of mercy brings healing.

TAKE THE CHALLENGE: How can I be more merciful? What does mercy look like in my daily life?