In this week’s Worship Wednesday, Claudia challenges us all to worship God when his mercy fills your cup.

Worship When Mercy Fills Your Cup

by Claudia Duff

mercy noun

mer·cy | \ ˈmər-sē

a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion *

Mercy is something given, not earned. It is a gift. An amazing gift that we could never repay. One of my favorite scriptures is, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” (Lamentations 3:22 ESV).

No matter what transpires in my day to day living I can count on this one thing for sure. At the end of that day, there will be mercy and, in the morning, when I wake there will be more mercy. It’s never-ending saints. Lost your keys and your temper, mercy shows up. Can’t quite get your act together, mercy is right there. When the unexpected orders show up, another deployment, retirement, promotion delayed, God’s mercy is all over it.

Worship Centers Us in God’s Presence

The great thing about a daily act of worship, it centers you once again into the presence of a holy God and a merciful Savior. The days are getting longer and our lives are morphing into PCS season, promotions, retirements, etc. I have to use both hands and my toes to count my friends in life transitions. Weddings and graduations will turn families upside down in very good ways but, we are still tilting. This time last year my husband was graduating with his Master’s degree at the tender age of 53. He did it in 2 years as a residential student. It was a hard season for us, very hard. Did I already say, hard? Because it was a hard season.

“O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.” (Psalm 30:3 ESV) This verse sustained me again and again. I was wholly dependent on God during this season and so was my guy. I remember many nights of falling asleep alone because he was up until the wee hours studying and writing papers. This season took me back to the place of our early marriage when we were both undergrads. We were “po,” not just poor. Because we couldn’t even afford the extra o and r! The struggle was indeed real 32 years ago. I never thought I would see those days again but, we did. And just like before, God was with us.

What Mercy Did For Me

The lyrics of this week’s song, grab my heart each time I hear them, “. When you are in a hard place, mornings feel like the worst because somehow in our slumber the harsh circumstances of our lives didn’t evaporate into the atmosphere, they are still present with us and we have to face them yet another day.

But, we do not face them alone.

God has promised to stand not just with us, but in protection of our hearts, our souls, and our very lives. This verse reminds me his promise is powerful and I can rest in it. “O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” (Nehemiah 1:11 ESV)

When Mercy Fills Your Cup

Nehemiah was cupbearer to the King, which is a fancy way of saying, “make sure nobody kills the king with poison in his cup.” What a tremendous responsibility! I don’t know about you, but I feel like I am bearing the cup for all the people I love. Yet, God has promised to bear that cup for us through His mercies. Providing a place of escape when we are not able to withstand the pressures and provision when we cannot provide for ourselves, that’s a good and gracious God sweet friends.

I nursed my Dufflings until they were almost two, but I began weening the middle while I was expecting number three. He did fine until he saw his sister nursing a few months later. Suddenly, his sippy cup wasn’t so appealing.  We can laugh about that now but, honestly, it wasn’t funny in the middle of that whole “cup war.” But, think about it. Often, we don’t like the cup we’ve been given either, but Jesus says, “give it here, I’ll take that.” You have a cup of fear, give it to Jesus. A cup of heartache, give it to Jesus. Or a cup of sin, give it to Jesus. A cup of ___ you fill in the blank and give it to Jesus. He will bear it for you.

“Nevertheless, in your great mercies you did not make an end of them or forsake them, for you are a gracious and merciful God.” (Nehemiah 9:31 ESV) Looking forward to hearing from you as you rest your cups in the Master’s hand. He is indeed more than enough to sustain you with His great and never-ending mercies. You got this because He’s got you.

Worship God for His Mercy

When we worship God for his mercy, we can pray as Jesus did, not my will but God’s be done, no matter what cup we receive.

That is what this song, “What Mercy Did For Me” by Crystal Yates, Micah Tyler, Joshua Sherman, does for me! Have a listen and let me know how it inspires your worship.

*Definition of mercy as found in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary.