So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
Pardon me as, yet again, I subject my entire being to a bout of reprogramming, through the Word.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning, new every morning.
Great is Your faithfulness, o Lord.
Great is Your faithfulness.
Today, I am thankful. Thankful for God’s love, which is steadfast. Resolute. Committed. Unwavering. God’s love is firm when we are failing; indeed, it is also resolute and committed when we find ourselves wanting, and when we find ourselves insufficient.
I am thankful for God’s love – and the proof of it being absolutely steadfast is seen in the fact that it never ceases. He has told us through Jeremiah once, that He loved the nation of Israel (and, I dare say, He loves all of us, both Jew and Gentile) with an everlasting love.
What a love He has for us; A love that is absolutely firm at all times, for all time – features of true love, features of what John says is a perfect love, that casts out all fear.
God’s love is the only love there is, for He HIMSELF is love, as John continues to proclaim in the same Epistle. And it is only by this love that we are able to love others, and ourselves.
I am thankful today, for God’s love. It is the only love there is.
And just as His love never ceases, behold – in this passage, taken from a portion of the Bible entitled Lamentations, the writer follows his already profound proclamation of God’s endless, resolute love by saying His mercies are the same way – His mercies never come to an end.
At this moment, where I am realizing just how far down I have fallen, and just how many mistakes I have made, against myself and all placed in my trust, I am reminded, by the power of the Holy Spirit… that even now, I am embraced by His everlasting love, and I am covered by His never-ending mercies.
The writer of the Lamentations goes further to elaborate that because God’s mercies are never ending, that also means that they are new every time the sun rises. New, every morning. The great mercies for yesterday’s mistakes were for yesterday, but the mercies we have for today are not only as great, but are fresh.
I am thankful today, for God’s love, and for the mercies for each and every one of us in the body of Christ, great and fresh, each and every day.
And I’m pretty sure I wrote about this before, but I will say it again, today – In the times we take to dwell on God’s everlasting love and fresh mercy, it is inevitable that we would follow the flow of the writer, who exhorts: Lord, great is Your faithfulness.
We say He is faithful, because we have seen how He loves us, and because His mercies for us are new every morning.
In another song, a notable favorite of my late father, the faithfulness of God is put into the forefront:
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
there is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
I could imagine the slight nuance here where the writer of this hymn proclaims of God’s holiness. He would have us sing that there is no shadow of turning with Him; That He does not change, and as He has been, so He will be forever. However, the direction of the hymn purposely leads us to joy, because in spite of our singing of God’s steadfastness in these words – not of His love, but His own steadfastness – we are led to concede to the gentle urging of the Holy Spirit, to sing that He IS our Father, and as He does not change, His compassions never fail.
And now that I’m writing about it, I’m realizing that it’s God that never changed… but I suppose that by His grace, by Christ’s finished work and by the resultant power of the Holy Spirit, we are led to call this great and holy God, our Father.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
If we find ourselves failing as fathers – that is, if we find ourselves failing as leaders, let us always remember to run to the throne of grace. And take note – all of us, in some capacity, even when we are physically isolated from the rest of the world, disconnected from everyone else; let’s take note that we are all leaders; we lead ourselves, at the very least.
And it’s not a question of IF, but WHEN we fail. We WILL as fathers (or mothers, if you will), or at the very least, as leaders, let us remember this – that by the finished work of He who was given the title of King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, we can come, just as we are.
Again, by God’s grace, by the finished work of Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have unlimited access to the throne of grace. This means that when we find ourselves stuck in a rut, or when we realize just how deep of a pit we’ve dug ourselves into, or when the failures of the past and present compound with the fears of the future, leaving us in an anxious mess – it’s in these very moments that we should remember that He is not far away from us, but with us, ready to minister to us with His endless, everlasting love, just as He, by default, drowns out all the grief and pain with His fresh mercies that are new with every morning.
Today, I am thankful. I am reminded, in spite of all that’s trying to tear me down from within, and all that’s trying to weigh me down from outside – that even in these moments, I have God’s love, I have His mercies, and though I may not have as much of a reason to lament and sing, ‘Woe is me’… I know for a fact, I know the TRUTH that by God’s grace, by Christ’s finished work, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, ALL of us can be brought to sing:
Great is Your faithfulness, o Lord…
And again,
Great is Your faithfulness.
This has been an ‘okay’ week. Could be better, could be worse. But because of God’s love, mercy and faithfulness, I can see what’s ahead… and it will always be brighter. Better.
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:18
Thank You, Lord.
God bless us all.
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