God and the Game of Mercy

Nicole Berlucchi reflects on how a childhood game reminds her of how God influences our lives and how no matter the outcome, God is really in control.

I was reflecting on some moments of my life where I was really trying to gain control of the situation. It conjured up the image of a young child playing mercy with their parent. I pictured the ways God holds us in place, the ways He lets us think we’ve won without His consent, the ways, He lets us know He is actually way stronger than us.  

If you aren’t familiar with the game, two people stand with their hands out in front of them, palms together and fingers interlocking over top. Usually, the players are siblings and of similar strength where it isn’t easy for one to overpower the other. The goal is to get the other person to cry mercy or give up, meaning they want you to let go of their hands. 

A parent’s strategy for the game of Mercy  

You can imagine a parent playing with a child. It usually goes one of three ways: 

• The parent holds their hands steady, and the child can’t seem to budge them. 
• The parent feigns great weakness and allows the child to win by twisting their parent's hands upside down; the parent says mercy so the child can win. 
• The parent decides they aren’t going to let their kid win every time, and so very gently turns their hands so that the child says mercy, recognizing their defeat. 

My struggles for control with God could definitely fall into these three categories.  

God’s strategy for when we think we have control  

There were times where God was like OK, Nicole, you need to feel in control, I’ll let you think you are overpowering me and swaying my control here. Let’s be honest these were times where the outcome was going to have little impact on my ability to follow God’s will.  

There were other times when He wouldn’t budge, and I felt frustrated that my tugs and pulls weren’t going anywhere. He knew I needed to learn that my trying to overpower Him was fruitless. It wouldn’t yield the results I wanted. He was trying to teach me it’s not always about what I want, and yet, it also wasn’t making me feel my littleness yet.  

At the most important times, He would very gently remind me of Who was in control and Who was the strong one here. My struggle to turn against his gentle movements couldn’t change the outcome, but He still had me. He knew He couldn’t always let me have my way. 

Whichever way, the important lesson is God is always in control. He is letting our lives move this way or that, or He is holding them steady, or He is steering them this way or that. For this I am thankful because I know He always has my best interests at heart. The mercy He grants is the best. 

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Copyright 2024 Nicole Berlucchi
Images: (top, bottom) Canva; (center) copyright 2024 Nicole Berlucchi, all rights reserved.