New Mercies

Who doesn’t love new things?  I get excited like a little kid when something comes in the mail, or when I get to open the package of something I have ordered.  Seriously – my heart races.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or expensive . . . but just new.  Something about new stuff is really fun.  In fact, it is probably my love for the “new” that led me down the dark road of credit card debt several years ago – proof that there can be too much of a good thing.

Last night I had some time to just relax and reflect.  I am trying to be more disciplined in the area of purposed alone time – time to reflect on things I see God doing, and praying accordingly.  Laying in bed last night, I felt the weariness of my spirit.  I am tired. I am thankful that the following Scripture came to mind – otherwise, I would have been prone to self-pity:

Psalm 121:

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

 The Lord does not grow weary.  Those are comforting words on multiple levels:

• He does not tire of hearing us pray.
• He is not sleeping when we need Him.
• He does not cease to forgive repentant hearts.
• He does not fatigue of blessing us with spiritual blessings in Christ.
• He does not cease to provide for our needs.

These are some perspective-giving truths.  I was reminded of another passage this morning which states:  “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’.” – Lamentations 3:22-24 

If you were exhausted and spent yesterday, the Lord was your portion.  Today, if you are weary, the Lord is your strength.  Tomorrow, if you find yourself in the midst of a tragedy, the Lord will be your stronghold.  Twenty years from now, if every penny that you have ever made is taken from you, the Lord will be your portion still.  He does not change, and He does not cease providing for us as our loving Father. 

Similar to the child tearing open gifts on Christmas morning, we awake every day to His mercies that are new.  His Word is a treasury of truth, filled with all we need.  So the next time you are prone to doubt His goodness or question His purpose, remember that Your cup runneth over . . . because He is the one who fills it each day.  Out of His bounty, we are strengthened.

The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Glad songs of salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly,
the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!” –Psalm 118:14-16