His mercies are new every morning

You can't go to church for very long without learning the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness." It is practically a staple of the Christian faith!! This great song comes directly from the Scripture in Lamentations 3. I went through deep emotional pain with my divorce. But it was the helplessness of physical suffering that brought me to my lowest points. I hated that I could not dress myself without help. Paul had to cut my food long after my surgeries. I missed playing the piano so badly! I still struggle to open a water bottle.

I will never forget the night when the full weight of Lam. 3:23 hit me. I had been busy with all the functions of being a busy mom all day, and then went right into work for my usual 12 hour night shift...of course not having rested at all. My hand began throbbing badly, and I found myself in the soiled utility room running my hand under hot water to relieve the pain. As I stood sobbing (yes, with dirty laundry and trash all around me,) allowing the hot water to ease my physical pain, I cried out silently to the Lord, "I can't go on any more, and yet I still have 10 hours left of my shift!" Almost instantly, a voice inside my head said, "his mercies are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness." If God can give new mercy each morning, surly He can carry me through my all-nighter! As I went back out to continue my work, I was comforted by this. I can not even tell you how many times I recited that verse through that night and many nights after!!

In the days that followed, I looked the verse up and found that a huge chunk of Lam. 3 is so special! It has quickly become a go-to passage for me when needing comfort. If you look in my Bible, you will find that verses 18-42 are all underlined and then also verses 55-60!!!

"...and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "the Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him." (Lam. 3:20-25, NIV)

The phrase "yet I call this to mind" hit me so hard! This must be a deliberate act! I have to choose to remember that God's grace sustains me. Oh, and then there's that word "wait" again! I really don't like to wait for my trials to go away!! I want it to be gone now. But, "the Lord IS good to those whose HOPE..." This verse is in the active, present tense. God IS good. I must put my TRUST in HIM and thus I have HOPE!!!!

I can't tell you all is roses now in my life. But I have a hope and a peace... because His mercy is new each morning!!!