From Beside the Still Waters - an Amish Mennonite daily devotional...
New Every Morning - Read Lamentations 3
My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3
My favourite time of the day is just before dawn. It requires rising early, but it is worth the effort. Daybreak gives an opportunity to see a new miracle each day as it happens. When the sun appears, I think I get a little sense of God's pleasure when He said, "Let there be light," and there was light! We can experience this many times if we rise early and look to the east.
God's mercies are also new every morning, and great is His faithfulness. The prospect of a new supply of mercy and grace for the issues of today is like watching darkness being chased away by light.
Yesterday with all its pain or regret is gone forever. If I have succumbed to bitterness or self-pity or greed or lust, I have another chance to implore God's mercy and live in victory. If I have been bullied or abused or insulted, I have a new supply of grace available to see God's hand at work in cultivating humility in me. The prospect of what may happen today need not make me fearful that I will fail again.
Being born again is not a one-time experience. After the initial new birth by repentance and faith, God continues to give new starts. The trials of life call us to Him for new mercies every day. Having failed or been discouraged yesterday does not force me to continue in that state today. Each new day gives me a new empty sheet to fill with whatever God's mercy and grace will enable me to do. What a blessing! Indeed, "great is thy faithfulness."
(Leon Horning - Fanling NT, Hong Kong)
Lamentations 3:21 - 26 (NKJV)
This I recall to mind,
Therefore I have hope.
Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I hope in Him!"
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
It is worth it to get up before dawn in the morning - but I rarely do it. Except sometimes in hot summer, when that's the best time of the day for anything. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm very much a morning person (as you would know), but the down side is I'm ready for bed by about 8pm :) xx
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