The Triumph of Mercy

You are about to witness the manifestation of a miracle—God’s mercy taking someone once consumed by misery and making her a minister of His Gospel.

It’s me.

It’s my story.

I have been personally and powerfully changed by the mercy of God, who turned my misery into a message of His goodness, greatness, and grace.

The psalmist knew something about misery. He was a man traumatized by trouble, and in his pain, he awakened to his desperate need for the mercy of God—mercy that could keep him from being swallowed by sorrow.

Let’s look at his testimony in Psalm 116:

“I love God because He listened to me, listened as I begged for mercy. He listened so intently as I laid out my case before Him. Death stared me in the face, Hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn. Then I called out to God for help: ‘Please, God!’ I cried out. ‘Save my life!’ God is gracious—it is He who makes things right, our most compassionate God. God takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, He saved me.” (verses 1–3)

He heard me cry for mercy.

My very first memory is one of misery.

• At age 3, I witnessed a violent domestic situation that became the backdrop of my childhood.
• I lived in constant fear of my abuser, suffered physical violence, and was traumatized in ways no child should be.
• At 10, I was held at knifepoint in a closet for having attended a birthday party without permission.
• I often went to school without food. Sometimes I’d get just one meal a day.
• I was bullied through all 13 years of school. I was urinated in the sandbox in primary and later chased by a girl gang for years—running up to 5 kilometers to escape.

Death stared me in the face. Life was hell.

His mercy saved me.

The traumas were suffocating. It felt as if the cords of death had wrapped around me. I didn’t know I could turn to the Lord, so in my brokenness, I turned to darkness instead.

• I stared down the invitation of insanity at age 11.
• I dabbled in witchcraft, practiced self-harm before there was language for it.
• I abused drugs, drank heavily, lied, stole, hurt the ones I loved.
• I gave my heart away recklessly.
• I married straight out of high school—entered a cycle of abuse, gambling, and betrayal.
• One day, in a fit of anger, my estranged husband shouted, “Tonya, you’re going to hell for what you’ve done.” That sentence didn’t just sting—it broke me. I dropped to my knees and prayed the rawest prayer of my life: > “God, if You are real, I’ve made a mess of my life and I can’t fix it. Please help me.”

No one led me to Christ. He led me to Himself.

Like the psalmist, it was my pain that drew out my plea. And when I cried out, God answered. His mercy met me at my worst.

Had He not intervened, I’m convinced I would’ve ended up imprisoned, addicted, or dead. But He did intervene. And He didn’t treat me as my sins deserved.

“He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.” —Psalm 103:10

His mercy saved me—from death, despair, and eternal separation. His grace made me whole.

“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you…You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.” (Psalm 116:7–8)

I now walk in healing, and wholeness, and hope. I believe—and I have changed. That is the miracle of mercy.

I wanted to take some time to share with you a story of God’s resurrecting power redeeming a broken person who was bound in her brokenness and in deep bondage to sin.

“How can I repay the Lord for all His goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord… O Lord, truly I am Your servant… You have freed me from my chains.” (Psalm 116:12–14, 16)

She who has been forgiven much, loves much. God’s mercy didn’t just forgive me—it transformed me. His mercy took my tears and turned them into testimonies. My scars now shine with the evidence of His healing power. I am wholly His.

That is why I now say:

“I will sacrifice a thank offering to You and call on Your name… I will fulfill my vows in the presence of all Your people…”  (Psalm 116:17–18)

This is my vow: to point others to His mercy.

When the wounded can’t find words— When the ashamed hide in silence— When the hopeless reach for anything to numb the pain— When the guilty can’t believe God still wants them— I will point them to His mercy.

His mercy meets the addict and the abuser. The abandoned and the ashamed. The performer and the perfectionist. The girl bleeding in secret. The man drowning in sorrow. The child who was never safe.

And even the woman who made a mess of everything.

That woman was me.

So if you need His mercy today, cry out. And if you’ve been praying for someone who’s lost in misery of their own making—don’t stop believing. The God of Psalm 116 still hears. Still saves. Still sets free.

His mercy doesn’t just spare lives. It restores them. It resurrects them. And I am living proof.

“Praise the Lord.” (Psalm 116:19)

Anen!

Rev. Tonya Watt
Founder of The Triumph Project