Have you ever made a bad decision and found yourself somewhere you never intended to go? Two things immediately come to my mind; one of them was a stupid decision, and the other one was even stupider. (I’m not sure that stupider is really a word, and hopefully it isn’t a stupid decision to leave it….) And I’m not going to tell you what either one of them was!

It would probably take me about 5 seconds to come up with some other bad decisions that I’ve made, in the last day and a half! It’s interesting to note that most bad decisions turn out to be bad after you’ve already done it. Follow me? I don’t generally set out to make a poor choice, but I can’t say I’m always careful to weigh the whole situation before proceeding.

I really can’t fault Tim too much for trying to take the shortcut in Chapter 12 of The Bridge from OneDayBow. I’ve taken some poor-decision-shortcuts myself. I haven’t found myself in mud almost up to my nose, but it has felt like it at times! Sometimes praying is the first thing I do, and other times I stew in my failure (or self-pity) for a while. Ultimately, after the dust settles, what I always want from God is His mercy. I want Him to take pity on me and not give me what I really deserve.

Mercy is an underused word these days, but boy do we need it! We need it when we accidently change lanes without checking our rearview mirror. We need it when we leave our brand new coat at school – on a rainy day. We especially need it when we do something that ends up in someone being mad at us. I appreciate the kindness when it comes from another human being, but I’m even more grateful to receive it from a gracious God Who sees me at my worst and continues to want my best.

Mercy is what Tim received. The Son didn’t leave him in the pit, even though Tim didn’t pray. But Tim must have been so glad to see Him, so grateful that He would come to His rescue, so… So where is the gratitude? Where is the “thank you”? I don’t know if I’m more embarrassed that Tim appears to be totally ungrateful, or that I didn’t make him at least apologize for getting himself into the mess he was in! If he got what he deserved he might have been in the pit at the end of the book!

Hate to say it, but Tim and I are a lot alike. Stubborn. Selfish. Sometimes even stupider than stupid! I’m so grateful that God has never made my bad decisions the end of my story! Instead He has given me mercy, mercy, mercy!!! Thank You Jesus for not leaving me in the pit of my own failures. Thank You for sometimes giving me time to stew in my self-pity, but not too much time. Thank You for not letting me quit easily, and especially for not giving up on me. Thank You for Your mercy!