New, Never-Ending Mercies
Jeremiah laments over the desolated land in today’s Bible reading*. But in his sadness, he exclaims that God’s never-ending mercies are new every morning for His people.
Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!
I say, “The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”
The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him.
It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.
Lamentations 3:22–26 (CSB)
Application
Lament[1]
verb (used with object)
1. to feel or express sorrow or regret for: to lament his absence.
2. to mourn for or over.
verb (used without object)
3. to feel, show, or express grief, sorrow, or regret.
4. to mourn deeply.
One aspect of Christian experience and prayer that we rarely hear about is lament. We seem to not want to lament or we seem to not feel that it’s appropriate. But what could be more appropriate than to do what is modeled for us in the Bible?!
God can be joyful. God can be sad. God can be exuberant. God can be angry. God created us in His image and God is an emotional being. We, therefore are emotional creatures. To express emotions (appropriately) is to imitate God! In fact, God commands us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15) Now, I’m not talking about emotionalism; I’m talking about feeling legitimate feelings about something.
Jeremiah was very sad to see the condition of his homeland as Babylon had conquered and exiled many citizens. And he was appropriately grieved by the situation. Jeremiah is often called The Weeping Prophet.
But like with Jeremiah, we should always temper our emotions with a shot of reality. We should always realize God’s sovereignty over everything. Yes, as bad as it seemed to Jeremiah, God was still on His throne. Even in His punishment, He was merciful. In fact, His never-ending mercies are new every morning.
As you experience and express your emotions, always remember God’s goodness toward His people. Always remember God’s faithfulness. And always remember that God’s never-ending mercies are new every morning.
[1] Source: Dictionary.com https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lament
* Chapters covered in today’s reading:
Lamentations 1
Lamentations 2
Lamentations 3:1-36
This devotional was originally published on August 27, 2021.
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