Lord, Have Mercy

What about mercy, Lord, I asked? Is there any room for mercy?

I'd had another vision of Hollywood. I've had three. This time, I was one of the elite, dancing the night away. (A younger, more nimble, outgoing me.) Flashbulbs popped in my eyes as I mingled with other like-minded individuals. Then the scene changed and an enormous vase full of yellow liquid was pushed over by a heavenly hand. I was so startled by it that I woke up. My heart hammering, I asked what was it I was meant to see.

"Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint." (Isaiah 1:5)

The Lord said, "I will wash them in their iniquities. The whole head is sick, the heart faint."

For a reason I wasn't sure of, grief choked me. Don't get me wrong. I've heard what some celebrities and others in that crowd have said. I know what they stand for. But the more time I spend with the Lord, the more His mercy weighs on me. Here's the Son of God who stared hate in the eyes and died to save it.

He replied, "This year will mark a change, a cleansing. I will shake Hollywood like never before. I will tear down their idols and raise up a new standard, actors, producers, directors who have my heart. What was popular will fail in this new era. It will be as if it has never been. I will come against debate, those shows whose purpose is to damn others and create strife. I am the God of unity. You have learned this."

Yes, Lord.

The Hebrew word Elohim is a symbol of unity, three-in-one. The union of a man and wife is mirrored after this. God could have created her from the soil as He did Adam, but instead she came from his side. "They shall become one flesh." (Ge 2:24)

He continued. "Television has fractured homes and clouded minds. Entertainment was not solely its purpose and not its main purpose. It was created to spread My gospel first then, next, to bring laughter and joy. Some (people) have My gift in them, a seed to bring humor to the world. Laughter is My tool to heal the heart. Yes, I am a God of holiness, but I love to laugh. The enemy has deceived men and distorted this gift into putrid dung, a vase of excrement they drink from, trying to satisfy a need that only My presence can fill. How can I save them, how can I show mercy, as you've said, unless I first dump out the wrath they've stored. Not until then, can I clearly see. Though I know the thoughts and intents of the heart, the cup of their iniquity is an obstacle between us. I must first cleanse the temple before I can rebuild it. You cannot paint over a wall covered in sand and grit. If the paint is peeling, to repaint you must first cleanse the surface. Similarly, to put My presence in earthen vessels, to live in the hearts of the temples of men, I had to show the emptiness, the arrogance, of the temple at Jerusalem. I had to expose her vanities in order to create something new. I cursed the fig tree to show how dead it really was. Though it looked green on the outside, inwardly it bore no fruit. I have nothing against fig trees. I have everything against hidden iniquity and even more against its flagrant exhibition. I have overlooked their sins until now. I will not overlook it any longer. My judgment comes on the wave of My mercy. They are always linked, but what you see, their result, is based on which side you are standing. My holiness is joy to some and terror to others. This does not mean I love them any less. My love never changes its scope. It never shrinks in size or power, but as the Israelites heard Me speak but discerned only mumbled noise and lightning and thundering, Moses heard words, clarity. (Exodus 20:18) To you, I am grace and mercy, sunshine and birdsong. To others, I am a whirlwind. Do I want to be a whirlwind? No. I am the God of power but that power is meant for my enemy not my creation, the man and woman made in my very image. Come to me, all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take and learn of me and I will give you knowledge laced with mercy and laughter and a joyful future and fulfillment and healing for all your wounds. Come let us plead together, for where your sins are scarlet, I will make them as white as wool. The mouth of the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth, triumphant Savior and King, has spoken it."

I sat there stunned. I always am, that the God of the universe speaks to me. I am as far from Hollywood as any person alive. Why didn't He tell someone closer, someone more important, instead of a housewife from Auburndale? I don't have an answer except maybe for one thing. His mercy. He showed it to me when I was at my worst, and please, Lord, please show mercy for just one of these. There has to be one You can save.

"And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake." (Genesis 18:32)

Image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay

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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.feelgoodromance.com
www.suzannedwilliams.com