LAMENTATIONS 3:18-23 – So I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.” Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
THEME OF THE DAY: EACH NEW DAY IS A NEW START. The book of Lamentations is just that, a book of laments. The prophet Jeremiah is lamenting the sad spiritual condition of Jerusalem, and he personally feels all the emotional and spiritual pain. We sense a glimpse of his suffering in today’s scripture. He is downcast, even despairing, and feels like he just cannot go on another day. Yet, a significant change occurs and, in the change, are two lessons for us.
First, Jeremiah changes his thinking pattern – But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope. As we think, so we live, but in the depths of spiritual conflict, like Jeremiah is feeling, our thoughts can become undisciplined. We “listen” to difficult circumstances. We “listen” to the lies of the devil. And if we don’t take control of our thinking, we will never get to the point Jeremiah arrives at – from hopeless to hope. This requires the hard work of mind renewal – I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
Then, Jeremiah embraces the amazing grace of God that meets him, and us, each new day with a new start – The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. In the many trials of the Christian life, we are not always successful. Failure marks our path. Sin is not removed from us, and the accusations fly from conscience and the devil when we do fail. Soon, if we listen to both whispers, we will find ourselves lamenting over our failures and sin. Then we live in the present with past regrets and remorse, forfeiting our joy in the Lord and the freedom of walking in His forgiveness. But like Jeremiah, we may say, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.”
Each day is a new day with God meeting us with His steadfast love, mercies and faithfulness. This means we may live today, afresh, in our walks with the Lord. The past is forgiven. No more wrath, no more guilt, no more condemnation. And it all begins with our thinking – a mind stayed upon the Lord that reminds us that . . . The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for Your amazing grace that is fresh with each new day.”
QUOTE: “How good it is to know we may start each day afresh with the Lord.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim