New Day, New Mercies I See

Lamentations 3:22-23

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because his compassion fail not, they are new every morning, Great is your faithfulness.

There have been times in our lives where we felt like Indiana Jones stuck in the Temple of Doom. The walls were closing in on us and everywhere we stepped was booby traps. Everyday brings with it new challenges but also new mercies. Sometimes it feels like God has forgotten about us because we are sitting in the dark and struggling financially. Any normal person would have given up with all of the hardships some of us have experienced but there is something or somebody who keeps us from being consumed.

Jeremiah said, “It is through the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” In the book of lamentations Jeremiah laments the ruin of his people and his nation. I felt like that last night with President Obama trying to present his case to a divided house. My heart ached seeing our nation wrestling with an inherited national debt, people dying, and leaders divided. Jeremiah felt the same thing with his people living through God’s judgment for their harlotry and disobedience to God’s will. Babylon had ravished the nation leaving people homeless, hungry, and without Healthcare. Through the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah cries out to God for relief, but right here in the middle of his plea he makes a proclamation and remembers the Loving side of God.

1. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed. If God did not have mercy the whole Nation would be wiped out with disease, famine, and poverty. When disease and pestilence comes through Judgment, it affects the Righteous and unrighteous. Jesus said, “It rains on the just and unjust but the comfort is knowing we serve a merciful God and we are not consumed.

2. His compassion fails not. God can’t stop Loving even when he’s angry. It’s bad theology to pray death on a President because that’s not the kind of God we serve. If we loved a President who lied about a war, can’t we love a President who you disagree with on Healthcare reform? God wishes that no one would perish but all might be saved through repentance of sin.

3. His mercies are new every morning. If you woke up this morning that’s because God loved you enough to give you New Mercies. What you do with it determines how long trouble lasts. Jeremiah said in verse 26, “It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the Salvation of the Lord.

4. Great is God’s Faithfulness. God is faithful even when we are not. God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. God will not turn his face from his children who turn from their wicked ways and seek his face again.

Dear God, thank you for keeping us through dangers seen and unseen. Please turn this recession around and lift this darkness from us. We are your children and we thank you that we are not consumed. Father, I fear for our country because the disrespect for you and our leaders is getting out of control. People are hiding their hatred behind ideology and religion and they don’t represent your spirit. I pray that you would hear the cries of your people and turn this country back to you. Pour your Spirit on us so that we may heal the sick, set the captives free, clothe the naked, and feed the hungry. Fill us with your compassion so that we can really be One Nation under God, indivisible. Thank you for your New Mercies, I think I can make it today as I await your salvation.

In Jesus Name.

Amen.