MERCY FOR SELF-INFLICTED FINANCIAL WOUNDS- BY GREG ELKAN

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten…” – Joel 2:25.

There is an old proverb that says, _“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago.”_ Many of us know that feeling all too well – especially in our finances.

We look back at decisions we should have made, opportunities we should have taken, money we should have saved, debts we should have avoided, and wisdom we wish we had possessed much earlier in life. And if we are honest, some of the pressure we feel today is simply the consequences of unwise financial choices we made years ago.

But the good news of the gospel is that God’s mercy does not end at salvation. As we already established in this series, God’s mercy extends into practical areas of our lives, including our finances.

When it comes to finances, grace means receiving blessings that we don’t deserve, but mercy means God not allowing us to reap the full consequences of what we _should_ have suffered.

Throughout Scripture, God consistently shows that He can redeem lost time, missed seasons, and broken opportunities. The locusts of Israel’s past in Joel 2 were real, and the years they lost were many. Yet God said, _“I will restore the years…”_ not because Israel had earned restoration, but because His mercy was bigger than their actions.

Financially, many believers carry silent regrets: You wished you started saving earlier, you wished you had invested when you had the chance, you wished you had listened to wise counsel, you wished you had avoided that loan, that partnership, or that lifestyle, etc.

Yet because of God’s mercy, though you missed a season, God still creates new seasons.

Beloved, because of God’s mercy today, you’re a candidate to for a second chance, for fresh wisdom, for opportunities you thought were gone forever, and for connection to people you are not qualified to meet.

God’s mercy will accelerate progress in ways that don’t match your past. God does not always remove every consequence, but He _redeems_ them. So don’t stand before God today with shame over yesterday’s financial decisions. Come boldly before the same throne of grace that forgave your sins, and find mercy in your finances to lift you from where you are and gives you strength to plant wisely today.

Amen!

© GREG ELKAN

-Nigeria