Dear Precious Friends,
On this TGIFF (Thank God I'm Forgiven Friday) this reminder is such a great way to start our weekend. I'm not supersticious at all so Friday the 13th is anther day to thank God for and remember His mercies are New every morning.. WOW.. Have you ever looked at that verse in its entirety and just focused on it?
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
Jeremiah had been writing about how difficult and depressing his circumstances were in captivity. ( We can somewhat) But then suddenly, in the middle of this bleak account, his thoughts take a startling positive turn toward the character of God. The Hebrew word translated here mercies is used 250 times in the Old Testament. It is a sweeping, all-inclusive term for God’s love, goodness, forgiveness, compassion, and faithfulness. Even in the bleakness of God’s discipline, there was hope. Judah would not be permanently destroyed, but ultimately restored. WOW WOW WOW!!! I love this reminder!!! I feel it's the same with us!
Throughout the history of mankind in Scripture, God’s unmistakable pattern is seen over and over again: disobedience brings consequences, but confession always brings forgiveness and renewal. When Jeremiah meditated on this, he remembered that God had many mercies available all over again, every single day. This section ends with a powerful statement: “Great is Your faithfulness.”
This line about God’s faithfulness makes me stop and think of the people I know, who, no matter what the circumstances and how they personally are doing, always do exactly what they say they will do, without excuse. The more I think about it, the more I realize how few people I know like that. We live in a world filled with broken promises and disappointment, a world filled with people who are unfaithful, including ourselves. So what do we do?
Jeremiah was struggling with discouragement, but he chose to focus on this particular characteristic of the Heavenly Father—Faithfulness. When we become discouraged, we should do what Jeremiah did, stop and remember God’s faithfulness. We need to memorize this verse and get into the habit of quoting it to ourselves when we are discouraged. We need to remember how God has answered our prayers. How He has provided for us, given us courage when we were afraid, loved us when everyone else disappointed us, and been faithful to us when no one else was. When storms are overwhelming us, we need to get alone and reflect on this amazing truth: God is faithful! Our Heavenly Father is faithful and full of mercy (not giving us what we deserve), when we humbly approach Him.
Great is thy faithfulness is one awesome song to remember especially in the most difficult of times. For Jeremiah to write this in prison and remember God's character .. who He is and what He has done ... is a great reminder for us to do the same in the midst of our difficult circumstances!!!!
Have a blessed and beautiful day my friends remembering this truth. It's World Kindness Day... lets all commit to an act of kindness or many acts of kindness intentionally today. Please share what you do on this post!
Send you lots of love... In Christ!
