New Every Morning

His sacrifice was once for all (Hebrews 10:10) on that blessed day we call Good Friday. But His mercies? New every morning.

This is what boggles my mind and steals my breath and presses me to my knees. Because of His compassion, the Lord showers us with His ongoing, never-ending, overflowing kindness and love on a daily basis.

I mess up on Monday. Beg His forgiveness on Tuesday. Make the same mistake on Wednesday. Plead for His mercy on Thursday. Stumble again on Friday. Ask for His grace on Saturday…

Sound familiar? Without His mercy I would be one wretched wreck of a woman. Yet with His mercy I have hope everlasting. So do you, beloved.

“Praise be to the Lord, for he has heard my cry for mercy” (Psalm 28:6). That He listens to us is amazing. That He hears and responds to us, even more so. As Sally commented on Facebook, “His mercy is so undeserved, yet so needed.”

There is one explanation for His generous mercy, and it’s not because we are good people. It’s because we are God’s people.

“When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5).

His compassion covers our failures. His mercy washes over our mess.

Centuries earlier, Daniel shared the same truth: “We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy” (Daniel 9:18).

We are called to show the world not how good we are because we love Jesus, but how good Jesus is because He loves us.

Here it is again, that favorite verse, more needed than ever as the darkness of Good Friday approaches: “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV) I love Dottie’s take on this: “His mercy is like manna. We need a fresh covering of it every day.”

Yes, we do. Monday through Saturday. Even this Sunday, when we bark at our loved ones to hurry so we can get to church on time, or complain that the weather might ruin our Easter plans. Even then, He is merciful.

The Hebrew word racham means “compassion,” and the Greek word eleos in the New Testament means the same: “mercy, pity, compassion.” Different centuries, different cultures, same desperate need. Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy.

For those who depend on the mercy of God,

every morning is Easter.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Lord, we come to you with our hearts aching (again) and our hands out (again), longing for your mercy (again). For every unkind thought or careless action, for every need we could have met for another and didn’t, for every dime and all the time we spent poorly, for the many ways we’ve been our own woman instead of Your woman, have mercy on us. Because of the promises in your Word, Lord, we rejoice in Your certain answer: “Yes.”

How might you praise God for His mercy? Thanks for sharing your thoughts via the link below. And have a joyous Easter morning. He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Your grateful sister, Liz

@LizCurtisHiggs