August 23
August 23
No matter how stuck you might seem, something in your life is new every morning: the mercy of the Lord.
Do you feel stuck? Do you long for change? Does your spiritual life seem stagnant? Does it feel as though your hopes and dreams are in suspended animation? Is your marriage stuck in unhealthy patterns? Are your friendships mired in repeated conflict? Do your children seem stuck? Does your church seem stuck, never becoming the church you wish it would be? Are you trapped in sin patterns that leave you feeling guilty and hopeless? Do you seem stuck in your reading of God’s word, never feeling that you walk away with renewed faith and hope? Are your finances stuck in patterns of debt? Are you tempted to give up on change?
In the darkest and saddest moments in the history of the people of God, God gives his children a reason not to give up. It’s not because they are wise, capable, or righteous. He does not tell them that they have the power to turn things around. Through his prophet, God communicates the hope for change in just a few words: “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam. 3:22–23). Here is where hope is found in this “stuck-again” world in which we live. God’s mercies never grow old. They are never out of date. They are never inappropriate. They never lack power. They never run out. God’s mercies never fail. Each morning the people of God are blessed with mercy from the Lord that is form-fit for the trials, opportunities, pressures, obligations, griefs, and temptations of that day. God’s mercies are not sitting dusty in a warehouse. No, like fresh fruit, they are hand-delivered by the Savior every day. Each child gets mercy, but each gets just the kind of mercy he or she needs for that day.
It is also true that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (Lam. 3:22) and that his faithfulness is great (3:23). Therefore, we have reason to hope in the Lord. Your hope is never in vain, because God’s mercies are always new. His mercies are always new because his steadfast love never ends. And his steadfast love never ends because God is the ultimate definition of faithfulness. Behind every new and needed mercy is a God of faithful, steadfast, and unceasing love.
The pinnacle of the new mercies of our Lord is the gift of his Son. Jesus lived, died, and rose again so we would have every mercy that we need:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.” (Lam. 3:22–24)
Jesus is the new mercy of the Lord, now dwelling with his people with redeeming and restoring power. He is with you, in you, and for you with boundless mercy. He will not leave you stuck. You have reason for hope.