Are My Mercies New Every Morning?

Sylvia Jeronimo
Feb 7, 2024
2 min read

What am I stewing and marinating in?

I still find comfort in the fact that God’s mercy is new every morning. There is this sense that I am allowed a redo everyday. What happened yesterday stays in yesterday. Today is a brand new start, a brand new day, a brand new week or month, and a brand new year. Because I know that I need it.

Sometimes my yesterday’s did not turn out the way that I wanted them to. There are days that I fail miserably. There are moments of life that go past and I remain completely unaware. Words come out of my mouth that catch me by surprise and that should never have been said. I express attitudes that are unbecoming to someone who professes to love Jesus with her whole heart. And I do!

Just to name a few.

Yet, this promise remains that when I wake up the next morning, the first thing that greets me is God’s mercy.

Mercy says that I do not get what I deserve. In fact I get the opposite which is grace. This grace comes in the form of forgiveness, compassion, understanding, patience, love and kindness. It's a mercy that says that I don’t need to carry into this day the heavy burdens of yesterday.

But...are my mercies new every morning?

Often I wake up with yesterday’s disappointments. My heart beats with last week’s hurts. I rehearse stories where I still harbor anger and hold onto grudges. I keep count of somebody else’s faults. And it weighs me down. It colors my day.

I stew and I marinate, and I lay out a table where nothing is appetizing. Do you realize that this type of stewing and marinating actually works in the exact opposite way of what happens in preparing a meal? When we marinate meats, they get infused with beautiful flavor and the fibers are tenderized and made juicy. Then, the longer we stew our meat, the softer the muscle fibers become until they fall from the bone and practically melt in your mouth.

However, my stewing and marinating in yesterday‘s shortcomings make my heart fibers grow short and rigid. The muscles of my heart become stiff and hard. My world grows dark and shadowy and love evaporates. Lord, have mercy!

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

This is the invitation of God. Not only do His morning mercies save me, they save me from myself. They safeguard the light in me and continue to tenderize my heart towards love. Our mercies do the same for others. Like Jesus, we are not to snuff out a flickering wick in somebody else’s life through un-forgiveness; or to break a bent reed through unkindness. We are to show mercy.

I need God‘s mercy so that I can extend my mercy. When I extend my mercy, I receive God’s mercy.

Mercy is not only the gift of love, it is the preservation and recognition of life itself.