We need to See God’s Mercy and Touch God’s Mercy: Everything Depends on God’s Mercy

Romans chapter 9 in particular reveals the principle that everything depends on God’s mercy; everything that happened to the Israelites and everything happening to us is of God’s mercy, and there must be at least one time when we see God’s mercy and definitely touch His mercy in our Christian life.

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see that it is not of him who wills or of him who runs but of God who shows mercy. Have mercy on us. May we see God’s mercy and may we have a definite touch of Your mercy in our Christian life. In Your mercy, grant us to give You our best cooperation in our Christian life for You to advance in us and gain what You are after in us! Amen!

We can only worship God for His mercy. We can never exhaust His mercy. His mercy reaches farther than His grace, and the source of it all is His love. God loves us. His love is the source.

His love is expressed by His grace, for Christ came full of grace and reality to express God. God comes to us as grace for us to enjoy Him. He wants to be enjoyed by us.

God wants to be enjoyed by man. He made man in such a way that man needs God to be his life and his everything.

When man enjoys God, man is satisfied and God is satisfied. However, man fell. The created man, whom God made in His image and according to His likeness, fell, for he was deceived by Satan.

Now man is no longer in the right position to receive God’s grace. For us to receive God’s grace, we need to be in the right position, for we need to be qualified to enjoy God.

However, due to the fall of man, we are now in a pitiful condition, even in a low situation, dead in sins and offenses, far away from God. How can we still enjoy God for the fulfilment of His purpose? It is all of God’s mercy. God’s mercy reaches farther than His grace.

God did not leave us in our fallen condition; He did not give up on us. Rather, God is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us. He loved us so much that He extended His mercy to us and reached us in His mercy.

Now we can enjoy God’s mercy, and His mercy brings us into the right position and condition for us to enjoy His grace. God loved us so much that He became the same as we are, extending His mercy to us and reaching us in our pitiful situation.

Even as believers in Christ, we still need His mercy today. We need His mercy all the time, for without His mercy we are nothing. If God withdraws His mercy from us, we fail miserably. Thank God for His mercy. Amen!

May the Lord grant us to See that Everything Depends on God’s Mercy!

Romans 9 reveals the principle that everything depends on God’s mercy (see vv. 15-18).

In His mercy, God chose Jacob and hated Esau; both had the opportunity to repent and do the will of God, but God loved Jacob. Jacob was not a nice person, and we would not have loved to be with him; however, he was chosen and loved by God in His sovereignty and mercy.

We cannot say that God is unrighteous; He told Moses that He will have mercy on whomever He will have mercy, and He will have compassion on whomever He will have compassion.

Because of this, we who are here in the Lord and in the church life can only worship God for His mercy, for everything depends on God’s mercy.

For example, in the case of Moses and Pharaoh, God raised Pharaoh up for this very thing, that He might show in him His power, and that His name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

God has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whom He wills. We cannot find fault with Him, for none can withstand His will. We cannot answer God back, for He is our Creator, even the Potter who made us, the vessels of clay.

He, as the Potter, has full authority over us, and He has authority to make out of the same lump one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour.

He is God, and we are not. He is sovereign, and we worship Him for His sovereignty. He is merciful, and we worship Him for having mercy on us.

He wished to demonstrate His wrath and make His power known, so He endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath fitted for destruction, in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory (Rom. 9:21-23).

Thank the Lord, He prepared us to be vessels of mercy unto glory, and we have been created, made, and shaped by Him to be containers for God to come in and be our very content, the treasure within us.

This is all of His mercy; it is not of us, not of our will or our running, but of God who shows mercy.

May the Lord grant us to see that everything depends on His mercy. He called us out of the Jewish people and the Gentiles and made us His people.

We were not His people by birth, for we Gentiles were not born in the earthly people of God, the Jews; however, He calls those who were not His people, His people, and her who was not beloved, beloved.

He made us sons of the living God (vv. 24-26). What a mercy this is!

If we see that everything depends on God’s mercy, we will give ourselves to Him and we will give Him the best cooperation we can, knowing that even our willingness to cooperate with Him is of His mercy.

Whether we are quick or slow in our temper means nothing and is of no use; it all depends on God’s mercy.

Whether we are in this country or that country, whether we move to that city or this city, whether we hear much or little, it all amounts to nothing; it all depends on God’s mercy.

May the Lord unveil us to see this. Not only the history of the people of Israel but even our history shows us that it is all of God’s mercy.

He has mercy on whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills.

Of course, we have a free will, and we can learn to turn our heart to the Lord so that any veils are taken away; however, even our turning is of God’s mercy.

May we see that everything depends on God’s mercy and may we learn to cooperate with Him day by day, even moment-by-moment.

Lord Jesus, grant us to see that everything depends on God’s mercy. Thank You for having mercy on us, dear Lord, and for saving us to be children of God and citizens of the kingdom of God. It is not of us, Lord, and it is not of our willing or running, but it is of God who shows mercy. Thank You for extending Your mercy on us. May we see that our zeal and pursuit are all of Your mercy, for You had mercy on us. Oh Lord, only the Holy Spirit can lead us to a proper standing, and we just open to You! We open to You. We turn our heart to You. Cause our heart to turn to You. Remove any veils from our eyes. May we see that everything depends on God’s mercy. Thank You for having mercy on us and making us the people of God, even sons of the living God. Oh Lord, we who were far away, not part of Your people, and dead in sins and offenses, You made us Your people and You call us Your beloved. How we thank You and we praise You. We worship You for Your mercy!

There must be at least one Time when we See God’s Mercy and Definitely Touch His Mercy

God’s mercy is not a feeling or a thought; God’s mercy is a fact. There must be at least one time in our Christian life when we see God’s mercy and definitely touch His mercy (Eph. 2:4; Matt. 9:13).

God’s mercy is a fact, and this is not dependent on our feelings or thoughts. Have we seen God’s mercy? Have we touched His mercy in a definite way? We should all shout, Hallelujah for God’s mercy!

In Mark 10, we see a man blind from birth who, when he heard the Lord was passing through, cried out, Son of David, have mercy on me! Have mercy on me!

We are like this blind man, crying out to the Lord, Lord, have mercy on us! Bring us all the way through! We depend on Your mercy! We need Your mercy! Everything depends on Your mercy!

This blind man was in a desperate situation; he knew he had a need that no one could meet but God. So he was desperate to get to the Lord and obtain His healing.

The problem with us is that we are quite self-complacent. We think we know much, we have much, and we have enjoyed and experienced much of Christ, so we are quite content.

We hear many amazing things about enjoying Christ as the all-inclusive Spirit.

We consider the matter of living Christ, no longer I that lives but Christ who lives in me. Many of these things do not penetrate as they should because we are contented.

It is easy for us to be in the condition of those in Laodicea, having no real spiritual hunger or desire to go on with the Lord (Rev. 3:14-21).

We think we are rich, we know many things, but not much affects us. How much of what we hear, read, and enjoy affects our being and our living before the Lord?

There must be at least one time that we see God’s mercy and definitely touch His mercy.

We need to take this matter to the Lord and pray before Him so that He may increase our spiritual hunger.

We need to be hungrier for the Lord and have a desire that the Lord would be real to us. We should not settle into a kind of routine in our Christian life and church life, thus falling into the condition of Laodicea.

Concerning this matter of God’s mercy, our eyes need to be opened so that we see that everything depends on God’s mercy.

He knows what is in our being; He knows that we are so strong in our mind, emotion, and will, and that our whole inner being frustrates His going on in us.

Unless He deals with our mind with its way of thinking, our emotion with all its feelings, and our will with its rebellion, the Lord cannot have a way in us.

Some people are too strong in their mind, others are too strong in their emotion, and others are too strong in their will; these need to be tempered, even attuned to a proper balance.

So God arranges all things in our life for our good, for we love Him (Rom. 8:28-29).

Whether we see God’s mercy all at once, or we realise it through a process, the minute we touch this matter, we touch not a feeling but a fact; this fact is that everything depends on God’s mercy.

If we were not degraded and fallen, we would not have a need for God’s mercy.

However, we need God’s mercy to reach us and bring us into a situation in which He is able to favour us with His grace.

Our enjoyment of God begins with His mercy; we need God’s mercy day by day.

When we wake up in the morning, we need to enjoy the Lord’s new mercies and compassion, for they are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23).

Having another day is a matter of God’s mercy; may we learn to open our being to the Lord, exercising to enjoy Him and partake of His riches.

God’s mercy and our realisation of His mercy has nothing to do with our outward behaviour; it is an inward matter, an inward reality that we would understand and enjoy and benefit of God’s mercy.

When we see God’s mercy, touch God’s mercy, and realise God’s mercy, we can also be merciful to others.

We realise that, as God is merciful toward us, we also need to be merciful toward others.

We were like the prodigal son, wandering off and squandering God’s riches and talents, and God had mercy on us when we returned.

No matter how young or old we are, none of us is immune from deciding to kind of wander off; we may get dissatisfied, we may not be happy with the church life, and for some reason we may not be happy with the Lord.

Something may happen in our personal life or in our family life, even a tragedy or a very unhappy event, and we may blame the Lord or be offended with the saints.

We may become bitter, and we may not want to come to the Lord or to the meetings anymore. Oh Lord!

So we end up feeding the hogs, in a miserable situation and condition. We may become a little desperate, for the Spirit operates in us to cause us to remember the Father’s house.

We may prepare a speech to repent and ask God to accept us as His slaves, not as His son.

The enemy accuses us, we feel condemned, and we feel like we are a failure. We think we’re no longer worthy of God’s grace.

But the Father is there waiting for us, seeing us from far off, running to us, kissing us and receiving us full of compassion and love.

He has mercy on us. He covers us with Christ as our righteousness.

He brings us back into His house to enjoy His riches; He lays a feast before us and provides the all-inclusive Christ as our rich portion for our enjoyment. This is God’s mercy.

There must be at least one time in our life, whether suddenly or after a long process, that we meet God’s mercy to know God’s mercy and realise that everything depends on God’s mercy.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes for us to see that everything depends on God’s mercy. May we realise that everything happening to us is not of our doing or our behaviour only but it is all of God’s mercy. May we see that God’s mercy is a fact, and this is not based on our feelings or thoughts. Oh Lord, may there be at least one time when we see God’s mercy and definitely touch His mercy. Save us from being complacent and content with where we are. Grant us a spiritual hunger for Your word and for experiencing Christ. We open to You, Lord. Have mercy on us. Save us from thinking we know, we have heard this, and we have done that. We come to You and we are willing to pay the price to buy the eyesalve so that we may see. May we see God’s mercy, touch God’s mercy, and depend on God’s mercy. May we respond to Your mercy by opening to You and cooperating with You today for You to carry out Your economy. Oh Lord, it is Your mercy that we can come to You as we are; keep us in Your mercy and make us those who are merciful to others also!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 57, “The Resumption of Watchman Nee’s Ministry,” ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 4, Blessed Are the Merciful, for They Shall Be Shown Mercy and Receive Mercy – day 3.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Father, we enjoy Thy mercy, / Ever fresh and ever new; / Every morning shed upon us, / It refreshes as the dew. / How we taste it! how we taste it! / Giving Thee the praises due. (Hymns #26 stanza 5)
  – Father, Thy mercy with Thy love and grace / Did we obtain; / And in Thy mercy, with Thee face to face, / We’ll e’er remain; / And for Thy mercy we would worship Thee / Through all our days and through eternity. (Hymns #25 stanza 3)
  – Day by day the world goes on, / Just as it has gone before. / Millions grasp and clutch at life, / Wond’ring if there could be more; / Such was I and would be, yet / Mercy found me out somehow; / With what gratefulness I say, / “I’m in God’s own family now.” (Hymns #1238 stanza 2)