I was sharing with a friend this week a passage from Lamentations. Now this is a book of the Bible most of us pass on during our morning devotions or time of study.  The prophet Jeremiah is lamenting over the problems of the nation of Israel.  His despair pours through every chapter and every verse as he rehearses the sin of the nation and the distance that has grown between them and their God. I can feel Jeremiah’s pain as I reflect on like circumstances here in America. I grieve over a country that has lost its way and has abandoned its foundations of faith and hope and love.  But nestled in chapter three is one of the most profound truths of the faith. Let me share it with you.

Lamentations 3: 22-26, NKJ

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

I love this passage as it has the truth to take me from grief to faith; not because of me or my country, but because of the character of God.  He is compassionate and full of mercy. His love which is new every morning is limitless.  His faithfulness is abundant.  He is the portion or serving of hope that we need in times of discouragement and trouble. The key to receiving his blessing is waiting and trusting in His timing and purpose.

Parallel scriptures in the New Testament include the following:  

Hebrews 6:18 NLT

“So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.”

Hebrews 10:23 NLT

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”

I am reminded of this eternal truth when I look out my kitchen window in the early morning and see a “Morning Glory” I planted a little over a year ago.  As you know the Morning Glory blooms new every morning.  It heralds the beginning of a new day with beautiful lavender pink trumpet style blooms.  

When I first planted the Morning Glory it only produced one, maybe two blooms at a time even though it was a tall, beautiful specimen from a local nursery.  I pruned it back severely at the end of the growing season last year so it would become healthy and prolific. It was a little scary to take the six foot tall bush down to two feet, cutting off all the previous foliage and blooms but I knew it had to be done. There were times when I looked out the window and thought, “Did I do the right thing?”  

This summer the Morning Glory blooms new every morning with no less than a dozen beautiful fresh flowers.  I had cut away the old and prepared for the new.  We have to do this in our spiritual lives also to receive the portion of hope God is waiting to give us.  It’s scary to purge our past accomplishments and seek God for new growth and fruit. But if we are willing to, His unending love, mercies and faithfulness will be new every morning in great abundance!

Allow God to purge you of past failures, regrets, false growth, grief and independence and then declare, “You are my portion and your mercies are new every morning!”