God’s Mercies Are New Every Morning…Even This Morning
I like to wake up early. I am out of bed most days before the sun peeks over the horizon. Many of my mornings are the same, brush my teeth, use the restroom, let the dog out, make the coffee, shut off the porch light, then let the dog back in, give the dog breakfast, pour myself a cup of coffee.
After our rituals, my dog and I will sit on the couch under a blanket. I will read my Bible, and she gnaws her bone. My couch faces our big picture window that peers into the front yard. As we sit there, me with my Bible and Nala with her bone, the darkness slowly recedes to dawn, and the birds begin to sing. It is like watching the world wake up.
On these mornings, it is easy for me to think about that verse scribed by one of the prophets, “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam. 3:21-24 ESV). We as Christians quote that verse a lot. I have lost track of how many pictures of sunrises on social media I have seen with this verse as the caption.
I don’t think I have ever seen someone post a picture of a dreary morning with that verse as the caption. I guess the Lord’s new morning mercies and grey skies don’t have the same ring to it.
Recently, we had one of these mornings. We ran through our morning rituals, and ended up on the couch, me with my Bible and Nala with her bone. The morning progressed as they always do. However, the night before, we had just had a storm roll through, and the poor weather still lingered. Rather than bright and sunny, a thick fog blanketed the area. As the sun came up that morning, it was not like watching the world wake up, it was like watching the world yawn and shove the covers over its head in a plea to keep on sleeping.
It wasn’t what most people would call beautiful or majestic. Everything was grey, and a thin layer of fog smothered the air like a blanket. That was when the thought went through my mind, The mercies of the Lord are new every single morning.
Interestingly, that morning mirrored closer to the context of the penning of that verse than any social media post I had seen quoting it before.
The prophet Jeremiah penned that verse around 586 BC as he stared in horror at the destruction of the beautiful city of Jerusalem. The Babylonians had just sacked the city, pillaged it, burned it, and harmed many. In fact, here is a snapshot of some of the language Jeremiah uses as he looks at the desolation.
“I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath: he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. He has made my flesh and my skin waste away; he has broken my bones; he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago.” (Lam. 3:1-6)
This is a man who has seen the sheer horror of life. However, he doesn’t stop there. He continues, just a couple of verses later he says,
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 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. 3:21-24).
Jeremiah pivoted his perspective. He found joy, not in the havoc and devastation of his circumstances but in the unchanging character of God. His life may not be going the way he wanted, but God’s character hadn’t changed; God was still good.
I don’t know where you are today. Maybe as you look out the window of your life you see grey skies. Maybe the fog chokes in around you. Friend, I want to tell you that His mercies are new this morning, yes, even this morning.
