a thought for the new year...

His Mercies Are New Every Morning

God made me new many years ago, when he drew me to himself as a child through His son, Jesus Christ, and called me daughter.  However, I find that no matter how long I have been a new creation in Christ, it is still so easy to forget that I am His and that I am made new.  It seems that my sin nature is so quick to remind me of the “old” Ashley, the one who holds onto a grudge, who is quick to judge, who doesn’t honor her husband and who is full of pride.

It is here where I am ensnared the most.  I find that the quickest way to distract me from the Lord & His will in my life is to put before me the things about my old self that I am least proud of.  Rather just forgetting the old & turning back to the new, I immediately begin to focus on the many faults & flaws I have & dive into a vicious cycle of guilt, sin & despair, rather than seeking comfort in the shelter of the Almighty God & reminding myself (and thanking Him!) that in Him, I am new.

As I have realized this tendency in myself to become distracted by the “old” (the sin, the yuck, etc…) in my life & remove my gaze from the Lord, I have found that one thing always brings me to my knees & shifts my focus in the most humbling & refreshing way:  remembering the mercies of the Lord.

^”Remember my affliction and my wanderings…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. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."- Lamentations 3:19-24.

I am made new, daily, because of the love of the Lord & his exponential mercies in my life.  I am refreshed when I remember than nothing I have done or will do, will ever separate me from the Love of Christ.  I am humbled and amazed that the God of the universe would choose to love someone like me, someone so inconsistent & wandering in my ways.  It is all that I can do, in the face of these great realities, just to muster up the strength to express my thankfulness.  And finally, my gaze is shifted from myself & my “woe is me” problems & onto the One whose love & mercies are sufficient for every need I have.

 His mercies are new every morning.