New Mercies Every Morning

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.” (Lamentation 3:22-24 ESV).

 

Our reading today comes from one of the “darkest” books of the Bible. Lamentations is not lighthearted reading; it’s a collection of desperate cries from the bottom of a pit. The author laments the suffering of God’s people during their time of captivity, which left them trapped in misery for years. But in the middle of the book, a glimmering light shines through the darkness, as the weeping writer lifts his head and proclaims hope in the God of love and compassion. We witness the progression from a downcast, bitter soul (v. 20) to an upright, resolute warrior refusing to be consumed by the troubles of life (v. 22). The rallying cry of confidence is that God will ultimately save his people.

 

This passage is a favorite of many of the folks I have known through the years who have suffered with a degenerative and debilitating disease. One of my clients was recently diagnosed with ALS. It is one of those diseases. He is a strong believer, but the prognosis is trying at best. The more we have explored the Scripture the more I have been encouraged with his faith and confidence in the promises of God. His type of ALS is a rapidly degenerative disease that begins to affect the lungs and speech first. He has been given less than six months to live. While that is likely to be true, he continues to persevere with the knowledge that God does indeed provide new mercies each day.

 

Perhaps you are facing similar challenges today. Everywhere you look seems to bring more bad news. My I encourage you with the good news that God has not forgotten or forsaken you. While the “big” things seem impossible, you can find God’s blessings in many different ways each day if you make a point of looking for them. Great is God’s faithfulness!

  

Hope in the Future

 

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:16-22 ESV).

 

Sometimes we use the word “hope” in reference to a wish or a prayer. There is nothing wrong with that. When someone says, “I hope that never happens again” it is both of those. But when we say, “God gives me hope for the future,” that is confident assurance in the promises of the God who has never failed us. Most people hope for a long life, lasting relationships, good health, and happiness. Yet we know that in a matter of minutes life can be turned upside down and inside out, and it can feel like our hopes are dashed. For the people of God, hope is drawn from a deeper well. As the psalmist explains in our reading today, we cannot rely on our own armies and horses, our own resources to deliver us. The beautiful image is that of the God whose eyes are locked on us, whose love never fails, who is our help and shield. God paints a positive picture of our forever future.

 

Yesterday when I wrote a bit about hope, it was a reference to this kind of hope. When our hope and trust are firmly connected to our unchangeable God, we know deep in our souls that God’s love will sustain us through this life and into eternity. This means that even if our struggles continue our hope in God remains. I have often been accused of being overly optimistic. This accusation is based on my unwillingness to release the power of the truth of God’s history on my behalf. So much has been done that can have no other explanation than God’s good will and mercy that I must not fall into the trap of despair because of current circumstances. He has always provided a way forward. His character is such that I can know, without doubt, that He will prove Himself to continue that pattern (cf. Hebrews 6:19).

 

This kind of hope is contagious. Maybe you know someone who needs to hear these words of hope today: the Lord sees you, loves you, and will sustain you. Make that your message to them today!

 

 

I Want to God Home

 

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing pat the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (James 5:7-11 ESV).

 

Today I am returning to the classic movie The Wizard of Oz for an illustration of an important principle in facing our trials. As you can see from the picture I have included it is the famous ruby slippers she was given in the film. The ruby slippers are the magic pair of shoes worn by Dorothy Gale as played by Judy Garland in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film. Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers are among the most valuable items of film memorabilia in the National Museum of American History which is a part of the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. I’m sure you remember that they were her means of getting “home.” All she needed to do was click them together three times while reciting the request, “I want to go home.”

 

I hope you will continue reading and not get the wrong impression as I write that I often wish for such a pair of “slippers.” This is not a confession of any thoughts or a desire to harm myself in any way. It is simply the truth that I am confident that my heavenly home is so far better than anything I could have here that I often long for the day when I will be called home. I know that God has both purpose and design in all my experiences to produce good, but some of these things require enormous perseverance on my part.

 

In our reading today, James reminds us of the perseverance of the prophets and of Job, a man who suffered greatly when he lost all his children, all his possessions, and his health. Yet he did not lose hope or give up. God was there with him and eventually restored his possessions and gave him abundantly more. The point of Job’s story is not that he regained possessions but that he persevered in his faith in God and that God demonstrates compassion and mercy. That is the hope I need to keep going! Make it your hope as well!

 

Your Inside Voice

 

Come, behold the works of the LORD, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; the burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:8-11 ESV).

 

Have you noticed how often our children (or, as in my case, my dog) simply don’t seem to have an “indoor voice”? Teddy, our little rescue terrier has a very loud voice. Now, he is not typically a tapper. However, when he notices one of the other dogs or someone he thinks shouldn’t be in the back, he barks LOUD! Inevitably our response is simply, “Teddy, use your indoor voice!” I’m not sure he knows what that means. It rarely lowers the volume of his barking and certainly doesn’t deter the folks who need to be in the back for whatever maintenance task they have come to perform.  Teddy believes that he has to be loud in order to protect his domain.

 

In our reading today, God is using both an outdoor voice and an indoor voice to assure his children that there is nothing too big for the Lord to handle. We need not be afraid—regardless of the surrounding chaos—because God is right there with us in times of trouble. He both lifts his voice above the uproar (v. 6) and draws us close with the quiet whisper “Be still, my child; I am here.” The interesting thing is that we can’t hear either of those assurances if we are not “quiet.”

 

There are days when the pain level is so high, the disappointment so deep, and the fear so crippling that we can lose sight of the God who is our refuge and strength. Desperation can drive us away from God, and we can find ourselves craving his commanding, large-and-in-charge presence along with his intimate words of assurance. We need to be quiet (“still”) to hear that voice. When Jesus’ disciples cried out to him in the midst of a raging storm, Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind, and told the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”—and all was calm (Mark 4:39).

 

What do you need Jesus to calm in your mind and heart? Pause for a moment, and hear him inviting you into the stillness of God’s presence.

 

What If It's Too Hard to Pray?

 

And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!” (Mark 2:1-12 ESV).

 

Yesterday I ended the devotional with the encouragement to “just pray.” It occurred to me that there are those times in our lives when we feel we are too broken, too sorrowful, too stressed, or too sinful to reach out to Jesus for healing? I’ve known folks who struggled so much that the simplicity of “just pray” was entirely too difficult to grasp, mush less practice. There are those times when you don’t believe you can pray. It is then that we must know others are praying for us. This is the incredible blessing of community in the faith. These are those times when we are paralyzed with grief and struggling to stand. These are those times when we must simply “kneel” as others bring us before the Father.

 

Today’s Bible reading tells of a man who couldn’t get to Jesus on his own because he was paralyzed. His friends decided to make a way through when they could find no other way to reach Jesus. So they climbed up on the roof, made a hole in it, and lowered their friend on his mat to meet Jesus. The first thing Jesus did was to heal the man’s soul by forgiving his sins, and then he healed the man’s body so that he could walk. Jesus knows exactly what we need. When we just can’t bring ourselves to Jesus, the family of God can carry us to him in prayer. Trust God and place yourself in the hands of fellow pilgrims who understand the power of God in the midst of our struggles.

 

Peace of Mind and Soul

 

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9 ESV).

 

The thought can be overwhelming at times: Can I just have a little peace? Perhaps it comes from a family member trying to escape the chaos of home life, a teacher bombarded with active children all day, or a medical patient caught in a whirlwind of tests, scans, appointments, insurance questions, and uncertain results. Stress takes its toll. Sometimes you just need a break in a beautiful place alone to figure it all out. What I have found is that the more I may need that “break” the more difficult it is to find. Mary and I are traveling to the mountains soon. We have chosen a cabin in the mountains near Gatlinburg as is our custom. The peaceful quiet is like a medicine to our souls. The problem is that we are not afforded the opportunity to go that often. So, how do I make do without being at that place?

 

The Bible speaks of “the peace of God” that can guard our hearts and minds is much more than the absence of noise or busyness. God’s peace, shalom, gives assurance that all is right in your soul, even if you can’t resolve all the issues affecting you or predict the outcome of anything at this point. God’s peace provides the assurance that God is still in control.

 

How do we find this peace? In our reading today the apostle Paul encourages followers of Christ to look above and beyond the problem: to simply pray about everything, thanking God for listening and answering according to his perfect will. We can then set our minds on the blessings around us—whatever is true, right, pure, lovely—and we can let go of our worries. That may sound too good to be true, like the catch phrase “Let go and let God.” When someone offers superficial sayings to a person who is suffering, it feels like salt in a wound. God promises to give peace to all who ask. Don’t even try to understand how it works; just trust that it does work… pray like that and find that place of peace.

Storm Seas

 

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded. (Mark 6:45-51a ESV).

 

We have had numerous videos and pictures of the destructive force in Florida as a result of Hurricane Ian. Our reading today describes a stormy sea as the disciples attempted to cross the Sea of Galilee. The winds were raging against them as they fought to keep their boat afloat. Jesus had been specific in sending them on ahead of Him knowing the storm would confront them with fear. He saw their struggle from afar and walked out to them on the wild waves. When they saw him, they were terrified, thinking he was a ghost on the stormy sea.

 

While that has never happened to me, I have had those moments when it seemed all was lost in a storm of events and circumstances. I’ve felt I had no one and nowhere to turn when things seemed impossible. My sons would tell you it was at those times when I behaved like a “basket-case.” Well, while that’s true, my hope is that I can do better in the future. I need to remember that Jesus is always there and never fails to restore order and purpose in my life regardless of what the circumstances might be at the moment.

 

Remember, Jesus could have remained on the shore and commanded the winds to tame down. At the very least, quieting the sea first might have made his walking out there easier. But instead Jesus joined his disciples in the turbulence, took the most difficult route, and then climbed into the rocking boat to be with them. “Don’t be afraid,” he said before calming the storm. In this story, Jesus demonstrates the heart of God that still comforts us today as we battle life’s storms. Jesus sees our struggles, comes near to us, and goes through the storm with us—whether or not he decides to calm or stop it. Listen closely as he whispers to you, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”