NEW Mercies!

Hey guys! Sorry the devotional blog has been MIA the past several weeks. This year at Christmas, we were able to take wish lists and provide gifts for over 182 clients across our various programs, as well as many different Christmas activities for our kids all over the state. All of that took some extra time, and the blog was what had to go this year. BUT—I’m back now, hopefully uninterrupted for the next several months!

In my office, I have Lamentations 3:23 hanging over my desk, so it’s the first thing I see (other than my coffee) when I sit down. Lamentations 3:22-24 says:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.                                                                                                              They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

The reason that I like this verse enough to give it a place of prominence is because of it’s wonderful reminder that today is a new day. No matter what happened yesterday, God has another portion of love and compassion for me today. Right now.

If yesterday was the BEST DAY EVER, then awesome! God has even more love to show me today. If yesterday was terrible, and I dealt with some really hard people, and I was ready to be back in bed by 10 am, then that’s ok, too. God has a new start today, and all the mercy and love that He poured out on me yesterday is not depleted. He whipped a whole new batch overnight, and He is ready to give generously to me today.

If we were rude, impatient, unkind, judgmental, unloving—whatever sin we let win in us yesterday, today IS NOT that day. Today is a new day. A day where we can let the love of God reign in us, and a day where we can bask in His new mercies, and hopefully be like God and share those mercies with others.

And, I’m sure you all know where I’m going with this. The other blessing of “new” that we get this week is an entirely new year. We get over 350 chances to wake up in these new mercies, and to bask in the new love that God has for us, day-by-day. As we begin to walk in 2019, let us strive to be better. Let’s make goals for ourselves, let’s go new places and try new things. But, on the days when we fail, or revert back to old ways, or encounter that person that pushes our buttons like no one else can, let’s put it behind us and move on, and remember that God has a new forgiveness, a new love, a new chance for us daily. Because God loves us better than anyone else can!