| “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” |
| —Lamentations 3:22-23 |
I have known these verses nearly all my life. I’ve been reminded of them each time I sing the old hymn with the words “Morning by morning new mercies I see.” 1
Recently, in need of so many things and thinking I knew how things for which I prayed would end, the Lord reminded me of that verse. He particularly drew my attention to the word, “new.”
Now I know the opposite of “new” is “old,” but it can also mean “different,” “unique,” even “surprising!” What if we approached each day looking for the “surprising” new mercies of the Lord?
God rarely answers our needs in just the way we think He might. Take the story of the disciples in Luke 5. They had fished all night and caught nothing. In the morning, Jesus told them to let down their nets in deep water. Because they obeyed, they had such a catch of fish that the nets nearly broke. This showed the surprising mercies of Jesus.
Another somewhat similar story at the end of Jesus’ earthly reign, recorded in John 21, had the disciples coming into shore after another whole night of catching nothing. This time, Jesus told them to try the opposite side of the boat. The disciples, who knew Jesus well by now, didn’t respond in mockery, but obeyed. Again, they had a catch they could hardly haul into their boats.
When you look at stories of healing in the Bible, you will see that God healed people with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (2 Kings 4). He applied mud and spittle to a blind man’s eyes (John 9), and sent a possessed man’s demons into a herd of swine (Mark 5). Often our Lord demonstrates His power in “new” and “surprising” ways.
As you look to God for answers to prayers, come expecting “new” mercies—not ways in which He worked once before, or for another person. If we watch, He will show up to do marvelous things for which we can praise, exalt, and stand in awe of Him.
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| 1 Chisolm, Thomas, Great is Thy Faithfulness. Carol Stream, IL: Hope Publishing Co., 1923. |
