When the Battle’s Over is an old church hymn, and its chorus goes like this, “…And when the battle’s over; we shall wear a crown; yes, we shall wear a crown…. in the new Jerusalem.”

Well, can I tell you this, you do not have to wait until whatever battle the song is talking about is over or until you get to the new Jerusalem to wear a crown. You are already wearing one. The Psalmist writes “[He] crowns me with love and tender mercies” (Psalm 103:4).

Every person, regardless of who they are, have experienced God’s love and tender mercies. How so? The fact that Jesus died for your sins is an expression of God’s great love for you. John 15:23 explains, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

In the same way you have experienced God’s love, you have also experienced His tender mercies. All humans have sinned (Romans 3:23). And the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23). However, notice that humanity is still in existence even though we have sinned. That is the result of God’s tender mercies. He does not punish us like we deserve. And because of his mercy, we can repent and obtain forgiveness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Ultimately, God’s tender mercies keep us alive, and they give us new opportunities each day to be better than we were yesterday.