Chasing The LightSample

Mercy and Compassion

There’s a verse in the Bible that talks about God’s mercies being “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23, NIV). The word “mercy” here is the Hebrew word rachum, which means “to actively show compassion.” So this verse means that every morning, God actively shows compassion toward us.

The first believers used to teach that every night our soul goes back to God to be given wisdom and be close to its Creator ... and then God returns it every morning so we can begin a new day. While this is a great picture of God’s compassion toward us, I know some of us find it hard to start a new day because we still carry the troubles of the previous day and don’t feel we deserve God’s compassion. Or maybe you’re like me and wake up some mornings feeling like the bad things that happened in your past will overwhelm you in the day ahead. To this, my friend Andy Stanley says, “There is an appropriate way to use your story, not as an excuse but as a testimony to God’s ability to free you from your past.” That is God’s mercy and compassion!

As the sun rises this morning, may you be aware of God’s tangible compassion and mercy toward you.