FATC Days of Christmas (Day 13)…Streams of Mercy

FATC Days of Christmas (Day 13)… Streams of Mercy

Merry Christmas!

It’s the day after Christmas –one day after we celebrated the greatest gift ever –JESUS…God with us. Who frankly, I think is the gift everyone needs, but admittedly, many don’t realize it.

My Gift to my FATC brothers…I’ve recently enjoyed reading Daniel Bryant’s book, GOD MUST BE A FLY FISHER, and I think many of you will enjoy it also. I’m reprinting a short chapter each day from now through New Year’s Day. This is not just a book about fly fishing. It’s a book about slowing down. It’s a book about seeing that every moment outdoors might be an invitation to come closer to the One who created it all.

(From God Must Be A Fly Fisher by author Daniel Bryant)

Streams of Mercy

If the Bible were a river, the book of Psalms would be the place where we stop to sit on a flat rock, take off our boots, and soak our tired feet in the flow of grace.

The Psalms don’t pretend that life is always beautiful, but they never let us forget that God always is.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made.” (Psalm 145:8-9)

That’s the anchor. That’s the kind of water that revives the soul.

David and the other psalmists poured their hearts into this river—songs of joy, grief, anger, awe, despair, and celebration. But through it all, one thing runs steady:

God’s mercy never fails.

Fly fishing has a similar rhythm. Some days, you cast with confidence. Other days, you tangle every line, spook every pool, and wonder why you even tried. And yet, the river flows. It doesn’t scold you. It doesn’t rush you, It simply keeps going, offering grace with every ripple and mercy with every rise.

Just like the Psalms.

“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” (Psalm 51:1)

That was David after failure. After sin. After getting it all wrong, And where did he turn? Not to his reputation. Not to the law. Not to a list of spiritual achievements.

He turned to God’s mercy.

And mercy met him there.

That’s what makes grace so powerful. It meets you where you are, not where you should be. On the good days and the broken ones. On the mountaintops of Psalm 150 and the valleys of Psalm 13.

“How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)

Sound familiar? Fly fishers have whispered something like that when the hatch refuses to happen and the fish refuse to rise. But the psalm doesn’t end there.

“But I trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in Your salvation.” (Psalm 13:5)

That’s the drift of the Psalms: honesty flowing into hope. Pain winding toward praise. Mercy rising through every verse.

There’s a Psalm for every moment on the river:

When the world overwhelms you: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

When you’ve messed up again: “He does not treat us as our sins deserve… for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love.” (Psalm 103:10-11)

When you’re unsure what comes next: “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path?” (Psalm 119:105)

And always, always, this: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6)

Mercy doesn’t lead with shame. It follows with kindness.

It’s like the gentle current that tugs at your legs in a shallow stream—not to knock you over, but to remind you it’s there. You’re not alone. You’re not unloved. And you’re certainly not beyond grace.

So cast again.

Let your soul settle.

Let the river speak.

And let the Psalms be the place where you relearn this simple, sacred truth:

God is merciful. Still. Always. Forever.