"The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.
The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him, so it is best for us to wait in patience - to wait for him to save us - And it is best to learn this patience in our youth."
God is merciful.
What does it mean though, to be merciful?
Before we can define merciful, we must first define mercy.
Mercy is defined as compassion or forgiveness shown towards someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm.
To be merciful then, means to exercise mercy.
What's interesting about the definition of mercy is that it is to show compassion and forgiveness to someone that you should be punishing.
Yes, God is merciful. He does not punish us as we deserve, instead he has compassion and forgives us.
This scripture in lamentations was written during a time when God was pouring his wrath on Jerusalem.
Yet for all, the writer says this; "The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise."
In our own lives, it's difficult, especially when we're facing difficulties, to believe that God is merciful, yet here, the writer is saying this as he watches the people of Jerusalem starve to death.
This is what faith is!
Believing in what you can't see. Knowing that God is good and that he is still merciful and loving even when the medical report says different, even when the report card says different, even when the addiction says different, even when your difficulties say different, God is still merciful.
The writer continues, by saying that the Lord is merciful to those who trust in him and that we need to learn patience.
When we're searching for a breakthrough and it's not coming; this is when our faith is being tested!
Especially when we don't see a way out, when we don't see the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel, during this time of insecurity and confusion; this is when we must rely on the one being that never changes; Our Almighty, All Powerful God.
The writer reminds us that God is good to those who trust in him, those who have faith in him and rely on him, we just need to be patient.
Why Patient?
Because God doesn't work on our timetable, we need to be patient, knowing and believing that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever; if he was merciful back then, he's sure to be merciful now, if he was good back then, he's still going to be good to us now. This is the faith we need to hold on to.
Today, I encourage you to remember that our God is a merciful and loving God. His mercy is renewed every morning, this means that nothing that you do or go through is going to exceed God's mercy for you. His mercy and love will always be more than enough to cover your sins. There's no doubt about that!
The question is, will you accept his love and mercy?
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