Scriptural Foundation: Lamentations 3
The core text for the message is Lamentations 3:18-26. Written by the prophet Jeremiah during a time of national captivity and personal fatigue, the book is largely a lament. However, nestled in the middle is a powerful expression of hope:
“So I say, ‘My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.’ I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Defining Mercy: The Starbucks Analogy
To explain the difference between grace and mercy, the speaker used an analogy of a “pay it forward” chain at a Starbucks drive-thru.
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Grace: Getting something you don’t deserve. For example, the person in front of you pays for your coffee.
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Mercy: Not getting something you do deserve. Using the same example, mercy is the person at the end of a 40-car chain who receives a free coffee but doesn’t have to pay the $40 bill for the large group behind them. They “didn’t get the thing they owed”.
In a biblical context, Jeremiah states that we deserve to be “consumed” or “annihilated” because of sin, dating back to Adam and Eve. Mercy is God withholding that rightful judgment.
Key Takeaways on Mercy
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Mercy is Purchased: It is not just a personality trait of God; it was bought. God can withhold judgment because Jesus “put it into his account.” The wealth of Christ’s righteousness is drawn upon so we don’t have to pay the debt we owe.
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Mercy is Fresh: Like a bakery that makes fresh bread every morning rather than selling “day-old” rolls, God “bakes” new mercy every day. It is a fresh provision for current circumstances, not a stale, leftover grace.
The Psychological Shift: Calling to Mind
The speaker highlighted a shift in Jeremiah’s language from “listening” to “calling to mind”.
Naturally, the human mind “boots up” with thoughts of affliction, bitterness, and a victim mentality. Like Adam blaming Eve (and God) in the Garden, we tend to spiral into self-pity and resentment when we listen to our own internal voices.
Jeremiah counters this by actively commanding his mind to remember God’s mercy. This intentional focus produces three things:
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Hope: A realization that God is redeeming the moment.
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An Uplifted Spirit: A shift away from a “downcast” soul.
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Patience: The ability to “wait quietly” for salvation.
Conclusion: Playing with the New
The sermon concluded with an encouragement to “play” with God’s mercy. Using the analogy of a “mint in box” collectible toy, the speaker argued that God didn’t give us mercy to sit on a shelf. He wants us to use it, enjoy it, and share it.
When we truly grasp the depth of our own culpability and the magnitude of the mercy we’ve received, it changes how we view others. It replaces judgment with humility and “The Chicago Way” (retaliation) with “The Biblical Way” (patience and forgiveness).