Every. Single. Morning

Remember having races as a kid?  Everybody would line up, and then someone would holler out “Ready, set, go!” and the race would start.

I ran track in school, and when the racers positioned their cleats in the starting blocks, no one had an advantage.  Each racer started the exact same distance from the finish line with their eyes on the prize.

Never once did someone have a delayed start or a longer race to run because of a poor performance in a previous race.

Do you ever wake up in the morning and pick up your poor performance from the previous day and take it to the starting line?  I have had times when the events of the previous day have worn my patience and good will thin, and rather than just let them stay in the past, I have strapped them to my back and carried them with me into the next day.

Have you ever done that?

Or maybe it was more than just being impatient with a spouse or child.  Maybe it was a series of choices that led down a destructive path. And each day rather than starting out with a clean slate and fresh hope, you dragged the previous missteps into the next week or month or more.

Why do we do that?

The author of Lamentations, believed to be the prophet Jeremiah, encourages us with these promises from 3:22-23.  

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

So what is mercy?  In short, unmerited favor.  The longer version is that mercy is compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or harm.  God’s mercy grabs us by the hand, dusts off the mistakes and bad choices from the previous day, and walks us into a future of hope and closer relationship with Him.

We can never outrun or out-sin or wear-out His mercy.  It’s so encouraging to know that even when we run out of patience for ourselves, God never runs out.  His heart is always for us. His ability to forgive far surpasses our comprehension. He’s not worn out or exasperated by us.  He delights in us. In Genesis it says that God saw all that He had created, and it was very good. That includes each one of us!

I encourage you to determine when you start your day to thank God for His new mercies and ask Him to help you receive His unmerited favor and have the mindset of His beloved child.  Because you, dear one, are one of His favorites!

Joy McLaughlin

As a co-founder of The Renewal Project, one of Joy's greatest passions is to help others walk in freedom, joy, and hope. When she is not ministering to others, she also enjoys writing, hiking, and spending time with her family and friends.