New morning...new mercies

                            A little food for weekend thought--

        How many times have I quoted these verses?  A bunch...but they're pure gold, so here they are again--"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." (Lam.3:22-23)
        I love those words on so many levels.  First, consider the source...that is, the name of the Old Testament book and the writer.  Lamentation--the dictionary defines the word as "the passionate expression of grief or sorrow; weeping."  The book of Lamentations was written after the complete destruction and desolation of the nation of Judah after the fall of the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.  It was a horrific time--God's chosen people were decimated and exiled by the ruthless nation of Babylon.  And the author who recounts this terrible period was Jeremiah--also known as "the weeping prophet"--for he grieved over his people's sin and their defeat and utter destruction suffered as a result of their disobedience and rejection of God.
        Yet, right in the midst of so much sorrow and desolation comes this magnificent truth: God's love never, ever ceases.  His mercies never, ever end.  His faithfulness is great beyond all our imagining and infinitely beyond our deserving.  And, perhaps best of all from the standpoint of us frail, temporary little dust people--His mercies are brand new every single morning.
        He will never run out or run low of His mercies.  Moreover, God will give us a daily fresh supply of His mercies.  Those mercies will be abundantly more than any need that will arise each and every day.  And the Lord will provide that brand new mercy for every situation we will face each day--just what we need, just when we need it,  tailor-made just for us, and always more than "just enough."
        We don't need to look back longingly at yesterday's mercies and wonder if they can possibly sustain us today.  Nope, our Father has fresh, perfect mercies ready and available for us today.
        We don't need to look ahead with worry and anxiety, fearing that perhaps His mercies will be inadequate for tomorrow or next week or next year.  No way!  Like that manna God provided every morning for His people wandering in the desert under Moses, God's mercies will be brand new each and every morning for each and every day...and we can count on it just as surely as we count on the sun rising every morning.  If there will be a new day tomorrow...then there will be new mercies from God to carry us through.
         "His mercies are new every morning."  Aren't you thankful?
        I love these words on this from Paul David Tripp: "Post those six words on the mirror that you look into each morning.  Affix them on the door of your refrigerator.  Tape them to the dashboard of your car.  Glue them on the inside of your glasses. Put them somewhere where you will see them every day.  Don't allow yourself to have a view of yourself, of others, of circumstances, of daily joys and struggles, of God, of meaning and purpose, and what life is all about that is devoid of this gorgeous redemptive reality: mercy....Let these amazing words sink in.  If you are God's child, they describe your identity and your hope.  They give you reason to get up in the morning and to continue.  They enable you to face and admit how messed up you really are.  They allow you to extend mercy to the failing people around you.  And they allow you to be comforted by God's presence rather than be terrified at the thought that He is near."
          Yes, indeed, praise God that "His mercies are new every morning!"
          Today, right now, will you thank your gracious, generous Father for His tender mercies He has for you this very day?  Tomorrow, the moment your eyes open for a new day, awaken with joy and hope, knowing His mercies are new yet again and will be exactly what you need for the day.  And as you look to the future, choose to live with faith and without fear for you can rest secure in the certain knowledge that God's mercies will be ever new, ever sufficient, and ever powerful.  For His mercies rest upon His perfect, eternal faithfulness and love.
          New morning...new mercies...never failing.  To God be the glory.