Jump Start # 902

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

In the midst of describing the horrific destruction of his beloved Jerusalem, the prophet Jeremiah remembered the goodness and mercy of God. Rich in descriptive words, these verses  teach us that God has a continual love for those who want to walk with Him and be faithful.

I especially like the expression, “they are new every morning.” There is something about a new day. A new day greets us with plenty to do. It’s off to work, school, or pursuing a list of errands that we must run. Often our days run together. The more we try to squeeze into a day, the more we fail to complete in a day. Work carries over from one day to the next. Home projects and duties trickle into the next day. Our days are full.

This passage though is not about what we do in a day, but what God does. His lovingknindness, which means mercy and His compassion, which means His love and care never cease. They never fail. God never runs out. You and I do. We tire. We get tired of stress. We get tired of each other. We get tired of messes. We get tired of helping others. We get tired of forgiving. Not God. His mercy never ceases, His compassion never fails. You see that illustrated with Jesus. You never see Him losing His temper and walking away from hurting people. You never see Him shouting, “You got yourself in that mess, you take care of it.” His lovingkindnesses never cease.

What would happen if they did? What would happen if God no longer cared? Prayers rejected. Blessings turned off. What if God turned His back to the world and said, “I’m tired of them. I’m through with them.” If God did that we’d be sunk. That would be what Hell is like. Instead, they never cease. They never fail. They are new every morning. New mercy. New compassion. Not leftovers. Not old stuff. Not hand-me-downs. New. Every morning.

As you wake up, God has new hope for you, new mercy for you, new compassion for you. They are new today. He wants to guide you today. He wants to help you today. He wants to bless you today. All of that sounds good to us. We’d think, “Yes, sir, bring it on!” Yet, I wonder how are we to God every new morning? Tired? Grumpy? In too much of a hurry for God? Preoccupied with getting everyone out the door? Running late and hope to give God a few minutes at the end of the day, if I’m not too tired?

I see a contrast here. God is new fresh and ready to go every morning. Every morning compassionate, merciful. I see us too consumed with horizontal living that we forget God is up there. Up there ready for us. Up there with new compassion. Up there hoping we will be thinking of Him this morning.

I’m glad God is not like us. There are some mornings I ought to go back to bed and start over. There are some mornings I can’t seem to get things going. There are some mornings that all I am thinking about is what I have to do that day. To be honest, there are some days, that God doesn’t enter the picture. I start the day that way. He doesn’t. Every morning, even today, He has new lovingkindness and compassions. New. Fresh. Just ready for you, TODAY.

Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Why is God so good to us? If He treated us like we treat Him, most of us would be in trouble. He doesn’t. He’s patient. He’s merciful. He’s looking. He’s waiting.

Why not take a moment, and pray to God. Thank Him for this day. Ask Him for strength, for this day. Bring God into your day. It’ll help you, affect you, and change you. And to think, brand new, just for today, lovingkindnesses and compassions, straight from Heaven!

Wow! Now, that’s a beautiful day!

Roger

Jump Start # 150 

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

  This week we have been picking verses out of Jeremiah. It is a sad book. Destruction is coming, the nation doesn’t get it and God is fed up their rebellion. The wonderful city of Jerusalem would be invaded by Babylon. The walls torn down, the temple destroyed and in essence, God’s presence removed from Judah. The best of Judah that survived the attack were taken to Babylon, that included Daniel. The poor were left behind, that included Jeremiah. What we have  given to us is two books written at the same time from two different places. The book of Daniel is written from Babylon and Jeremiah is written from Jerusalem.

  Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, the following book. We don’t read or study that book often. To “lament” is to mourn or cry.  Lamentations is written after the destruction by Babylon. It begins, “How lonely sits the city that was full of people” (1:1). In the midst of this description, the prophet Jeremiah calls upon God. It is here that we find our verses today.

  Sitting among the ruins of a once beautiful city, Jeremiah reminds the people that God hasn’t given up on them nor has He stopped loving them. His lovingkindness never ceases, His compassions never fail. We need to be reminded of that. Especially after we have done wrong, like the prodigal, we can sense that God will treat us like a slave. But He never stops loving us. God forgives over and over. God wants the best from you. God wants you to have a close relationship with Him.

  I especially like the expression, “…His compassions never fail. They are new every morning…” New compassion. New love. Just like a new day. The sun comes up and there is God ready to love you. Now it is easy to think, ‘well, if He has new love for me today, why am I still in this mess?’ Jeremiah who wrote those words understood that the city would be in ruins for 70 years. That was the punishment. Israel was in the wilderness 40 years before the promise land. Abraham had to wait 25 years before the chosen child was born. God’s love does not mean immediately our struggles or difficulties go away. We equate God’s love with comfortable living. If things in life are a mess then we assume that is an indication that God is mad at us. No.

  Our verse ends with these words, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” We sing a hymn with those words. God made promises and He will keep them. After 70 years the Babylonian nation was conquered by the Medes and Persians. Those kings allowed some of Judah to return. God promised. God kept His promise. Israel would understand that when they went to the promise land. Abraham would understand that when Isaac was born.

  God is faithful. He has promised to forgive your sins if by faith you walk and obey His son. God has promised Heaven to you if you continue with Him. Great is Thy faithfulness. God will keep His promise.

   Every morning, new compassion! That’s a great message for a destroyed city. It’s a great message for destroyed lives. It’s a great message for tired and busy people. God loves you!

Roger