Living Open-Handed: Devotions for Surrendering Control and Finding Joy in the UnexpectedSample

Joy in New Mercies

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. LAMENTATIONS 3:22–23 ESV

"Mommy, I'm awake! I'm done sleeping! I want milk!" Good thing they're so cute. As soon as you wake up, what do you do every morning without fail? And no, I’m not talking about ideally, like running at 5:00 a.m. (If this is you—go you, seriously). I’m talking about habits that you do no matter what from muscle memory. I brush my teeth, put my contacts in, and head to the kitchen for coffee with my husband. No matter how complex the previous day was, those three stayed consistent the following morning. What does Scripture tell us we can expect from God every morning? His steadfast love. His never-ending mercies. His great faithfulness.

Do you think about that? That is far more important and consistent than my routine will ever be. So much in life is out of our control. No matter the load you go to bed with, your mornings are a chance for all to be made new because the Word tells us this. We don’t wake up from sleep refreshed just because of hours of unconsciousness. We wake up refreshed because of the truth of this Scripture. Yes, we might have to tune our minds to this truth in the morning, but we can do that with repetition! We can create the habit of remembering His love, mercies, and faithfulness are complete and for us every morning. And when we remember these things, we wake up with a fresh capacity for the new day, no matter what comes our way.

Remember this the next time you go to bed, shaken or worn out by the unexpected day you’ve just had. We have God with us! Expect His love, mercy, and faithfulness to saturate your day from morning to morning. It’s all we need!

Dear Lord, You see all that I have on my plate today. Please help me remember Your unending love, mercies, and faithfulness throughout my day, as my memory might forget. Keep me close to You and remind me that all of these are new every morning. Amen.

Reflect: Are you muscling through your day alone? Are any unexpected circumstances weighing you down today? Where can you release the pressure to do it alone and trust that God is with you?