New Mercies

At this time of year, it's common to make resolutions of what we hope to accomplish in the 365 days that lie ahead. Researchers tell us that few of us will keep these resolves for any length of time. We start out well-intentioned, and yet somewhere along the way, we fall back into our old habits, and making the same resolutions the next New Year's Day.

Although it seems trite to say, it's such a wonderful gift that God doesn't suffer from these same affinities. After all, when He makes to a promise, He is faithful at keeping it. Whether this promise is thousands of years old, like the one He gave Noah that He would never again destroy the Earth with a flood, or a promise that daily resonates with us, such as the fact that He is with us always, when God resolves to do something, He sticks with it.

In the same vein, one of the promises that God maintains is to provide daily what we need. In fact, Lammentations 3:22-23 says that God's faithfulness is demonstrated through the new compassions He provides every morning. Think about it! Did you have a rough day today? Tomorrow God has new ways that He will demonstrate His love towards you. Are you discouraged in your walk with God? In His great mercy, He has something that He wants you to learn about Him today that you didn't know yesterday. Every day, each day, God wants to pour out His love to you in new ways.

Reading the rest of Lammentations 3 makes this point abundantly clear. God's daily mercies are the reason that we have hope (v. 21), the source of our protection (v. 22) and everything that we need (v. 24). Let us rejoice in this, and as we face each day of the coming year, let us anticipate how God desires to display His compassion today.

How has God showed you compassion today?