Do you remember the story I shared about my missing passport? If you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here. Today, I want to take you behind that moment, to show you another layer I like to call the mercies of God.
On the day I found the passport, I needed it for my visa appointment the very next morning. I had used this same visa for almost ten years, so I expected nothing unusual. Just a regular appointment.
I got to the visa office way ahead of time and just stayed in my car, waiting for my slot which was for 9:10 am. While I sat there, I felt a nudge, clear and familiar, the kind I’ve come to know as the Holy Spirit. The instruction was simple: Step out of the car and walk toward the gate by exactly 9 o’clock.
Now, let’s rewind a bit. That morning, while I was getting ready, I heard God whisper: “I’m going to show you mercy.” Naturally, I assumed it meant I would find my missing passport. Still, as I got dressed, I began to declare to myself, over and over: “I’m a recipient of the mercy of God. I enjoy the mercy of God.” Those words carried me out the door and all the way to the office, where I found my passport, lying quietly in my printer. But as I headed out afterwards, I didn’t give that word much thought.
Back to that moment in the car: the nudging wouldn’t let me be. I hesitated: Why step out ten minutes early when they wouldn’t even let me in before my 9:10 am appointment? But in obedience, I got out and started walking towards the gate.
The place was its usual self, crowded and buzzing. Applicants everywhere, vendors offering services from printing to photocopying. As I approached the entrance, two vendors walked up to me.
“Madam, you want do photocopy? You want print abi na passport?”
I brushed them off gently, not wanting distractions. “No, thank you. I’m good,” I said, keeping my focus on the office ahead.
Then one of them stopped me with a question that froze me in my tracks:
“Madam, na this type of visa you dey do? They are no longer here o, they don move go another place.”
I turned, stunned. How could he have known the type of visa I was applying for? I asked him where the new location was, and he gave me directions. Right there, it clicked: this was why the Spirit nudged me to leave my car early. I needed those extra minutes to make it to the new office in time.
I quickly pulled up Google Maps, and thankfully the new place was just 6–7 minutes away. Still, I worried: Would I get there in time? Would I find parking space?
But Mercy had already gone ahead of me. Right in front of the building were two empty parking spaces waiting. I slid into one, half-expecting the security guard to chase me off, but he didn’t.
By 9:09, I was walking into the building. One minute before my 9:10 appointment. Ten minutes later, I was done. Just like that.
That’s mercy.
You see, sometimes we experience God’s hand and call it luck or coincidence. If the Holy Spirit had not reminded me of God’s promise to me that morning—-“I’m going to show you mercy”—I probably would have missed the lesson: a depiction of just how the mercy of God works.
Think about this: that vendor did not see my visa application documents, yet he spoke what I needed to hear at the exact time I needed it. That is not ‘chance’. That is Mercy.
Don’t forget that I had also programmed my mind and my environment, irrespective of all that was going on, to receive the mercy of God.
The mercy of God is not predictable. You can’t put it in a box or control its flow. It’s bigger than your effort, your planning, your qualifications. And it’s available to everyone.
Remember Romans 9:15 (NLT): “I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose. So receiving God’s promise is not up to us. We can’t get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone he chooses.”
So let me ask: do you need divine intervention? A supernatural touch that rearranges things in your favor?
Let’s declare this together:
I am a recipient of the mercy of God.
Today, I enjoy the mercy of God.
Everywhere I turn, God’s mercy is speaking for me, to the glory and praise of His name. Amen.
Now I’d love to hear from you—have you ever experienced a moment where God’s mercy showed up in ways you couldn’t have planned or predicted? Hit reply and share your story with me. I’d be honored to read it.
From a mercy-filled life,
Nwa Abba,
Nkiruka.