When was the last time you kissed someone’s feet? When was the last time that you had enough tears to wash…anything?
This story in Luke 7 exists to show us a genuine response to God’s overwhelming mercy. I wonder what commotion this woman’s weeping must have made at the Pharisees’ table. Imagine her there on the floor, openly weeping in front of strangers. She disregarded their disapproval and made a radical display of devotion. Jesus bent down, looked her in the eyes, wiped the tears from her face, and told her the truth: Her weeping was not in vain. Her sins were forgiven. She came in weeping but could go out rejoicing.
Meanwhile, the hosting Pharisee did not ask who she was, what she was doing, or why she was doing it. He didn’t provide her a seat at the table. He assumed that since he knew about her past, he knew everything about her future too. He talked about her but didn’t care for her. He judged her by what she had done, not by what God would do for her. He missed the miracle. But when Jesus looked upon this weeping woman, He saw the beauty in her sacrifice and in her heart. When Jesus saw her, He offered her abundant mercy and a new identity.
This is our God! When I humble myself before Him, He forgives everything and puts my feet on a whole new path. When Jesus explained His parable of the creditor with two debtors to the Pharisee, He said, “Her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little” (Luke 7:47–48).
This woman wasn’t a worse sinner—she was a better seer. Unlike the Pharisee, she saw Jesus for who He is. Rather than trying to hide her mistakes, she grieved openly for how she had failed. In using the parable, Jesus was inviting the Pharisee to see his sin with a clearer vision, to see that the molehill of sin in his heart was actually a mountain. Right perspective on the magnitude of sin leads to a radical posture of gratitude toward God.
Jesus isn’t saying we need to sin more in order to love Him more. He’s inviting us to see the evil of our sin without mitigation. Only after taking a brutally honest look at ourselves will we be able to appreciate the merciful, caring, forgiving gaze of our Savior. He lovingly looks us in the eyes and gently wipes away our tears. He sets our feet on new paths. May we focus on that change today and, with grateful hearts, thank Him for all He’s done for us.
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41 thoughts on "Give Thanks for God’s Mercy"
Right perspective on the magnitude of sin leads to a radical posture of gratitude toward God.
“This woman wasn’t a worse sinner, she was a better seer.” Lord I humbly ask you to show me my sins so that I may confess them and ask for forgiveness from them. Lord set my feet on a new path.
Thankful for His mercy ❤️
I love how the author said he sees all of her not just her past! God help us to see all of your people.
I love this picture of love from My Savior.
Amen❤️
I am so glad that Jesus sees all of us and not just the awful parts of us. I am thankful that He sees our potential and what we have become because of his death on the cross and not what we used to be. He loves us all the same and doesn’t care what we did in the past. I love ❤️ God’s grace thru Jesus’s sacrifice.
Amen. TINA thank you for sharing that song.
Mercy is the act of withholding deserved punishment. Thank you Lord. Amen.
I believe that when God shows us a sin in our life, he doesn’t want us to feel bad about ourselves. By showing us the sin in our lives, he wants to show us areas he wants to change in us. I am an unfinished canvas that he is still working in. I pray that I could walk in his grace and extend that grace to others around me.
I absolutely love this and really needed to see it tonight. Thank you for sharing this ♥️
Mercy, thank you so much for your post! This is so encouraging to me as I am trying to rebuild my relationship with God. I am going to look into the videos you mentioned about Andrew Wommack. I was at my small church for over a decade and I realize now how much it skewed my view of God- a tyrant God instead of our loving father. I feel as if I am getting to know Him again and detangling all the falsehoods I learned.
Teresa Donnelly- Thank you for sharing your testimony. I related to what you posted so much. I am in a new church now and starting to see God as my loving father. It has been a rough journey starting over but God is definetly meeting me where I am now and it is comforting to know His patience and love for me.
Seeing Jesus in these scriptures as someone who is merciful and loving…it’s beautiful. Picturing Him bending down, wiping her tears, showing love over judgement…it really shows His love for us. So thankful for our savior!
@TERESA DONLEY: so touched by your testimony yesterday, and I am compelled to write to you. I have met so many people that were under the terror of religion, legalism, and the unpredictability of God’s wrath. Yet, God is constant and unchangeable (Hebrews 13:8). I was a victim of such terror myself for a couple of years under harsh preaching. But God… God is merciful and gracious, long suffering (God suffers!!!), slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness, forgiving, and kind to 1000 generations of righteous people, and by no means forgetting sins of the wicked up to 3 and 4 generations (Exodus 34:6-7), He testifies about Himself as such to Moses and the whole human kind. What’s amazing is the very first thing God talked about Himself is MERCIFUL, that is the tip top nature. Even in His judgment, He is merciful (Mercy trumps over judgment- James 2:13). God is not man that He should lie about Himself, and who He is. Satan has infiltrated the church real bad, and makes us think that God is quick to anger, slow to forgive, quick to judge and punish. I am so sorry that wrong doctrines are a real crushing weight, on top of trials and attacks. I too once wanted to run so far away from God, for 2 years period I left, and I never wanted to have anything to do with this cruelty. But God found me, oh how he found me… hidden away, forgotten, and took me back through youtube videos in a very dark phase. I stumbled on “God wants you well” series- by Andrew Wommack when struggling with an issue, I could not get enough of how good God is, I was told in this series that God still does miracles of healings, He stills forgives, and heals all kinds of sickness and deformities, and He still goes after the 1 sheep that is lost. And then “Killing sacred cows” series- also by Andrew, attacking the wrong systematic religious views about God (highly recommend!!!- this is the life saver for me). And I myself experienced miracles- mind blowing. I received fresh revelations about the Merciful God, one after another. It took a few years for God to renew my mind through Andrew’s teachings to demolish many many strongholds of wrong thinking, patterns and negative emotions. Andrew is just like my dad, who lives thousands of miles away btw and I miss him, and Andrew reminds me so much of my dad and his sense of humor, God uses such endearing details to draw me back. How kind, my dear Father who loves me. The small church that preached wrong, I prayed for them and for my purity of heart/forgiveness towards them. They got shut down due to various personal reasons. God still worked in our midst, even in bad bad church situations (thinking of you LEXI B!). The Lord took actions and cleaned up that whole situation. There is a balance with God, in love and also in discipline, in pruning and in grace, in the grand scheme and in the little details, He is closer than a friend, always walking with us, always working with us to bring goodness into this world. God is good, all the times! And all the times, God is good! And Satan tries so hard to convince us otherwise, through sickness and tribulations. May we choose to believe the Lord’s testimony, and experience great victories, the things hoped for, for ourselves.
Molly: I love your picture of Jesus’s posture towards us; Him bending down to us. I worked at an elementary school for a few years and I always bent down to talk to the kids – especially when I needed to correct them. I never wanted to tower over them and make them feel small. How, how much He loves us that He is gentle and compassionate, even in His discipline. To picture Jesus bending down, or kneeling down to our level, to look into our eyes and love us even when He is extending mercy and grace. How much love He has for us.
Ephesians 2:9 … which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. Lord I am a sinner and in desperate need of your merciful kindness- help me to ACT with kindness in the moments You have prepared ahead of time for me so that others may know You! Soften my heart so that I will not be weighed down by grudges, jealousy, and the judgment of others. Your peace comes when those “feelings” are set aside and I behave more like You!
Simon talked ABOUT her while looking DOWN on her. Jesus bent DOWN to talk TO her.
It’s always going to be personal with Jesus. He will never talk ABOUT me while standing ABOVE me, He will always bend DOWN to talk TO me. Even when I show up full of shame. He will forgive me and fill me with hope.
Mercy for the things I deserve. Grace for the things I don’t. So much to be thankful for.
Tina, thank you for the song! The older I get the more I realize my need for a Savior! I woke up in the middle of the night with Brandon Lake’s song, “Gratitude” on my heart and when I got up this morning it’s still there! I have nothing fit for a king but all I can offer Him is my praise, my gratitude for His mercy and grace! If you have time, look it up, it is a beautiful song. It will lead you to worship. My 4 year old grandson almost drowned this past July 4th. He had been under for an undetermined time but his 7 year old brother saw him and jumped in and pulled him out. I praise God every day for His protection. We all know he could have been one of the July 4th statistics BUT GOD.
For the first time, I noticed the posture of the woman – BEHIND Jesus at his feet.
This is such a beautiful and convicting devotional! When we kneel at Jesus’ feet, He redirects our feet to a path of right living.
Do I shed tears over my sins? Do I abide so closely to Jesus that He could feel my tears on His feet? So convicting!
2 Corinthians 7:15 – And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be GREAT THANKSGIVING, and God will receive more and more glory. (emphasis mine)
From Encyclopedia of the Bible on Biblegateway resources: “Perfume could be produced from sap, bark, flower, or root.
So strong were the better kinds of ointments, and so perfectly were the component substances compounded that they have been known to retain their scent for centuries. Sometimes it was produced in a powdered form (Song of Solomon 3:6), perhaps like a sachet powder. The first maker of perfume mentioned in the Bible is Bezalel (Exod 37:1, 29), and the profession became highly developed in Israel as elsewhere. ”
TRACE G – So sorry about Skye and praying for Christina Marie and Van and for your grieving heart. ❤
Praying for each SHE and so thankful for each of you and this study time. HEIDI – So glad you are back with us; I have missed you! Praying for your heavy load and especially for the Thursday assignment. ❤
I need God to wipe the tears from my eyes this morning. Another young man died from Cystinosis this morning. I am crushed, heartbroken. My heart aches for this family losing their only son. Please Pray for Christina Marie and Van. Their son’s name is Skye.
I love the song “Mercy” by Elevation Worship.
Good morning She’s! What a special reading.
GM! That was a great devotion paired with those scriptures! Wow! It really struck and stuck! For one, of how I behave like a pharisee many times in seeing people for what they’ve done and not as God sees them; “He talked about her but didn’t care for her. He judged her by what she had done, not by what God would do for her. He missed the miracle.” Whoa, that hit. Then, also, like many of you, didn’t really see my sin as big sin. I grew up as a good girl too, even when I was deep in sin in my twenties, I thought I was way better than those around me. I had always known Jesus was my ticket to heaven, but didn’t really realize my deep need for his forgiveness. Then one day it struck and it was overwhelming. Now I still feel that massive emotion of the cost, for me.
Thank you for the honesty you all share with your walk, trials, and praises. Thank God we are always being sanctified when we WANT to get closer to God and study His word. It’s sad seeing christians that are saved but don’t value the relationship they could have with Jesus!! (me before!) It is certainly life changing, and I just want that for the people I love, and everyone really!
@Heidi- glad you are here with us!! Prayers for this busy time, good luck Thursday!
The verses in 2 Corinthians, I don’t think I have ever read before. Or I read it with a focus on me. “Look how much we suffer” not on Jesus and His mercy. It overjoys me to remember his mercy is for me. I think I have the same problem as the Pharisee. I don’t look at my sin with the correct weight. I judge others as worse than I, I forget my desperate need for a savior. For a forgiving and merciful Father. Lord, help me to see the weight of my sin, all sin as you see so that I might better appreciate the weight of your goodness and mercy. Amen!
Or look how much I (needlessly) suffer because I don’t accept:recognize His mercy . Daily new mercies appear, a d I can feel peace/joy that surprises all understanding. I can move forward.
How humbling and courageous it must have been for this unnamed woman who entered the home of Simon the pharisee. She risked being judged and thrown out, yet that didn’t stop her overwhelming need to sit at the feet of Jesus and wash his feet with her tears and her hair. She had such love for the Savior. A beautiful picture of forgiveness. It reminds me of the song by Shane and Shane – His Mercy Is More, this is a verse and chorus from the song:
What patience would wait as we constantly roam
What Father, so tender, is calling us home
He welcomes the weakest, the vilest, the poor
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
Praise the Lord, His mercy is more
Stronger than darkness, new every morn
Our sins they are many, His mercy is more
Praise God His mercy is SO MUCH MORE than our sin! I will be forever grateful that Jesus came to seek and save the lost (including me!!) and that there is no sin to big that He can’t forgive!! Thank you, thank you God – for Your mercy that is new every morning! (Lamentations 3:22-23)
Praying for your requests @Searching and @Heidi! …it’s good to see you back Heidi!
Have a blessed Tuesday my dear SRT Sisters!
Thank you for those lyrics, TINA. I love that song and had forgotten about it… very appropriate here. I listened to the podcast yesterday, and heard “BUT GOD”. I thought of you and smiled!
(On a musical note… pun intended!)… I am a self-proclaimed podcast junkie, but had come to the realization last week that I needed to listen to some praise music every day too… that has gone by the wayside, and I miss it.
Clair’s devotion was. so. good.
Let’s be as unabashedly devoted as that woman with the alabaster jar today and every day, sweet Shes! And may we be better seers!
Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for wiping away all my sins, mistakes, failures, and shortcomings. I come humbly before you to confess that I am a sinner who desperately needs you, today and always.
Thankful to serve and be loved by a God who is RICH in mercy. It is so undeserved, but freely given. What great love our Father has for us!
I hope everyone has a blessed Tuesday <3
Aneny
@Tina Thank you for sharing the song. Never apologize for it. It’s awesome. I think one of the ways we worship is through song. There are times when God will speak to me through music when my heart does not know what to do. Anyway, thank you.
Like so many of you have commented this statement stopped me, “ Right perspective on the magnitude of sin leads to a radical posture of gratitude toward God.” oh how often in my life do I not only misunderstand the magnitude, but also don’t look for my sin to confess until communion and even then it’s a minimal dive. I pray Lord the scales fall off my eyes and I truly see my sin to not on confess but understand the magnitude of my gratitude for your mercy.
Well I can pretty confidently say “I’m a mess!” and am aware of my need for my Savior!! Haha! However, I too come from a background of this unspoken idea that “well I’m not really THAT bad.. I mean look at (insert person here).” Truth was I DID usually make good choices, mostly because I was blessed with parents who gave me opportunity to know what that good choice was… they taught me wisdom from an early age and even that example right there shows the unearned, undeserved merciful grace of my God in my life. I am now at the stage in my life where it’s much easier to see my own sin and while that’s quite annoying, I’m grateful and I pray God continues to keep my eyes open to it. There is zero chance I will ever stop sinning this side of Heaven- but that’s never been the point. As I see my sin, as I “do the thing I don’t want to do”, I have opportunity to again see the enormous chasm Jesus bridged for the sake of relationship with me. Im refreshed to see what value I have to Him. And THAT is what spurs me on to want to live a life holy and pleasing. Not so that I can stand proud at how “together” I have it- but so that others can see His life changing work in me and be drawn to Him.
Thank you for the prayers over my current season of stress… had a couple breakdowns yesterday but I am feeling better about one class so that’s good.
PRAYER: so this Thursday I will be speaking for about 20 min to my class, discussing/teaching on a portion of Acts 2. It’s basically our “final”. I’ve not done anything like this before since in seminary and I’m pretty nervous. In addition, I have 2 other classes I have so much going on for. Im overwhelmed. Top that off with 3 young kids, Christmas season upon us, so much going on in their classrooms, parties, parent involvement- endless. Then- asking yet again- prayers for my daughter. She’s halfway through her first year of 6th/middle school and at a new school. She’s trying hard and yet she struggles socially some. Praying for her heart to know the love of her savior and her worth in His heart. That he may Give her wisdom to make choices that will glorify Him and benefit her in the long run. My heart aches for what she goes through some days.
Good to be back, friends. I cannot WAIT to start the Advent season with you!! Having fun reading your requests and updates and seeing “old friends” commenting. ❤️
Grateful for our Savior and a Merciful Good Father! Amen
I’m thankful beyond what I can express for God’s mercy, and that those mercies are new every morning. Following Him daily, and still need those mercies. In The Beatitudes study on Blessed Are They That Mourn day (mourning/grieving over our sin, receiving mercy, being comforted and forgiven), on 11/16/16 COLLEEN (was this you, COLLEEN DEVEAU?) commented “But what doesn’t come so easily to me is honesty in repentance. I’m like Adam and Eve…I’d rather hide than face God with the truth of my sin.”
How can I be thankful for His mercy if I refuse to recognize and repent?
HEATHER SCHMUDLACH – praying for this season you and your husband are in
COLLEEN DEVEAU – praying for your heart health and stress relief, and for your dad’s safety in rehab.
KIMBERLY Z – praying for your sister’s decision
MICHELLE PATIRE – praising with you, praying for wisdom and guidance
RHONDA J – praying for pain relief
TRACI GENDRON – praying for your friend whose cancer has returned. And yes, so many are missed here!
SHARON JONES – praying for adoption
HEIDI – praying as you catch up and meet the deadlines for this semester!
LAURA DIANNE – thank you for your testimony!
Prayer request for my friend’s daughter and medical team – for critical treatment decisions being made today.
Lord, thank you for saving me by grace. And showing me kindness and unconditional love!
This is a lesson I am still learning. I am embarrassed to admit that understanding the depth of my sin has been a stumbling block for me when it comes to understanding forgiveness, mercy and God’s love and sacrifice. I was always a “good girl” who made good choices and basically didn’t get into trouble. I accepted Christ as my Savior when I was young but didn’t fully understand my need for a Savior until later in life. Ironically, my understanding of the depth of my sin started to come when my husband confessed his affair to me. I was so angry, so hurt, so appalled by his sin, that I found it impossible to forgive him. Through that time, God began to break me and show me what true forgiveness looks like. By understanding the depth of sin that Christ forgave on the cross (He didn’t deserve it, He had done nothing wrong, yet He willingly went there anyway and forgave ALL sin) eventually brought me to the place where I could forgive my husband. And through that experience I have had to pray – Lord keep my sin always before me. It is very easy for me to slide into the “I’m not that bad” mindset and when I do, I forgive less and judge more.
Yesterday I was doing our mindset lesson with my third graders. It was about the power of our words to bring people together. Of course, the kids would rather talk about times someone was mean to them and didn’t say sorry. So I spun it into a discussion of forgiveness. I told them the hardest words to say are “I’m sorry [period].” So often we want to add a “but she started it!” Or “but they did it too!” I love that in today’s story, all we get from the woman is her unspoken plea for forgiveness. No excuses, no bargaining, just a poured out heart. Back to the third graders, who asked “well what if someone doesn’t forgive you?” And indeed, in this World, we can’t control people’s responses. But how wonderful to have the knowledge that our God will ALWAYS forgive us! My heart grows lighter even as I type the words!
Thank you to those who prayed over my anxiety yesterday. I reminded myself that “God has not given us a spirit of fear” over and over until my head finally remembered what my heart already knows. Praying for all the teachers over these next three weeks!
“Right perspective on the magnitude of sin leads to a radical posture of gratitude toward God.”
O how easy it is to excuse my sin and resist the call to confession and repentance with a flippant “Jesus knows and loves me anyway.”
True, but He also calls me to deeper things, deeper transformation so that I am holy like He is.
Life-long process requires His never-ending mercy. Thank You, Lord.
HELEN JERRY – may the Lord bring clarity as you lean in.
SHARON JONES – joining you in prayer for the little boy’s adoption.
HEIDI – so sorry that you are stressing. Praying for clarity of mind and laser focus as you approach the end of the term.
SEARCHING ❤️
“Right perspective on the magnitude of sin leads to a radical posture of gratitude towards God.” So much truth here. I had a season of great pride that ended in a great fall – this taught me so much about the reality of my sin, my worthiness, and how only His grace makes me acceptable, not any of my own works. My failures changed my faith; they deepened and strengthened and humbled me, and oh, how I needed that humbling!
Dear Lord thank you for your love and forgiveness
The woman with the alabaster box! This is one of my favorite New Testament stories..
Cece Winan, sings the most beautiful song about this.. sorry, yet another song..( the words are so beautiful)
Here are the words..
The room grew still as she made her way to Jesus
She stumbles through the tears that made her blind
She felt such pain, some spoke in anger
Heard folks whisper, “there’s no place here for her kind”
Still on she came through the shame that flushed her face
Until at last, she knelt before His feet
And though she spoke no words, everything she said was heard
As she poured her love for the Master, from her box of alabaster
So I’ve come to pour my praise on Him
Like oil from Mary’s alabaster box
So don’t be angry if I wash His feet with my tears
And I dry them with my hair, hmm
‘Cause you weren’t there the night He found me
You did not feel what I felt
When He wrapped His love all around me and
You don’t know the cost, not of this oil
In my alabaster box
No one knows what you’ve been through
I can’t forget the way life used to be
‘Cause I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound
And I spent my days, poured my life without measure
Into a little treasure box I’d thought I’d found
Until the day when Jesus came to me
And healed my soul with the wonder of His touch
So now I’m giving back to Him all the praise He’s worthy of
I’ve been forgiven and that’s why
I love Him so much..
May I come pouring my praise on Him, like oil from Mary’s alabaster box.. He wraps His loving arms around me each and every day knowing what I have done, and who I am..
BUT GOD..
Though I can’t forget the way I used to live my life, God/Jesus, has forgiven me, continues to love me and holds me close, healing my soul, and giving me a new path by the Grace of God..
I, from this day forward, renew my promise, to pour my praise on Him, for He alone is worthy of my praise…
Thank you Jesus.. Thank you Jesus, Thank you.
AMEN..
Happy Tuesday covered in love dear friends..❤️