The plea that rises before the Throne of God is never lost, for prayer is the shadow of mercy, the sure forerunner that a blessing is on its way. Yet you must never mistake the removal of a present trial for the deepest work of Divine Grace. It is a dangerous thing to cry for escape from the consequences of sin without first crying for escape from the sin itself. The mercy of God is like the Tree of Life, bearing fruit every month, fresh and new each morning, but it is always a mercy that leads to holiness, not a mercy that winks at iniquity. If the Lord has drawn your household into affliction, it may be that He has distinct purposes of love, beginning with stern discipline to bring you low, that He might then show Himself as the Great Messenger of the Covenant, the Interpreter who can make a soul feel the way of salvation as well as know it.
You ask for the case to be dismissed, for the attorney to cease, for the door to be free from summons. This is a natural cry from a trembling wife and mother, and I would not be harsh with you. But I must ask: is there a seeking after Him who is the Husband of His people, even when the earthly husband stands in jeopardy? Sin in a child of God is peculiarly sinful, it is no trifle. The Lord has never thought of divorce from His own, for He hates putting away; yet He will deal with guilty ones in a way of love that often looks like severity. The Devil would have you mistake the Lord’s dealings for wrath and turn from Him, but these very miseries may be messengers of mercy. Behind the black cloud, the Sun of His mercy still shines. Do not, then, be led astray to turn what is meant for your good into an excuse for riot, nor to think that a merciful escape from human courts is all that is needed. The soul must have a gracious dismissal from the court of Heaven. When Christ Jesus says, "Go in peace," there are no "ifs" or "buts", it is a present and abiding certainty. But that peace comes through faith in His atoning blood, which is the Ransom, the covering that puts out of God’s sight every sin of all who trust in Him.
Social outcasts, overwhelmed sinners, those whose cases seem hopeless, Jesus walks into their colony and touches them, saying, "Be you clean." Yet His mercy is tenderest in its requirements. It asks nothing of you but what it gives, repentance and faith are His gifts as much as His commands. If you so believe and so speak, there is all the more reason to fear disobeying Him, lest you incur a displeasure far heavier than any earthly judge can pronounce. Your great concern for the roof over your head and the care of your son is natural; but let your first concern be that the soul of your husband, your son, and your own self be found in Christ. If the fear of temporal ruin drives you to Him who overtakes us even at the well in the desert, in the season of our greatest confusion, then this trouble will prove a singular season of mercy indeed. He can make even a distraught woman, sitting by the well of her grief, the object of a home question from the Messenger of the Covenant, describing the case with minute accuracy until she cries, "Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did."
Whatever unfolds tomorrow, whether the judge shows leniency or the papers are accepted, see that you do not miss the tender mercy of God in the Gospel. The man who has the fear of God within his heart need have no fear of anybody else. If the Lord should permit the storm to break, remember that He is still a Husband, still faithful, still providing. If He should calm the storm, do not receive the mercy without a deepened sense of obligation, a new song of gratitude, and a life that seeks the quietude of a holy walk rather than the drama of worldly entanglements. Cast the care of the morrow upon Him, but do so as one who has first cast the eternal care of the soul upon the crucified Savior. He alone can give the peace which the world cannot give and cannot take away. Go to Him, not merely with cries about courts and attorneys, but with the cry, "God be merciful to me, a sinner," and you shall find that His mercies are new every morning, great in their faithfulness, and sufficient for every need, even unto death, which then becomes no dread, but the door to eternal joy.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
