New Year, New Mercies
Well, I love the New Year. I love New Year’s day and the reminder that God’s mercies are new every day, every year and in every season.
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
No matter how far I have drifted or been less than devoted, God has never been less than faithful.
- He is always here.
- He is always able to do the impossible.
- He is always listening to our prayers, always offering the peace that surpasses all understanding, always rock solid, never changing.
- He’s always offering the opportunity to trust Him, even when I make mistakes, even when I sin whether purposefully or accidentally, even when it seems nothing is going well.
- His door is always open. Over and over again, Jesus says “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Every day, all day, He is offering this to everyone. Does your soul long for REAL rest? Do you long for REAL peace? Are you unsettled?
Over the years, I have found that when I lack peace, when I sense in my soul a spirit of unsteadiness, or discontent, even when that unsteadiness starts to seem like chaos, you know what it is?
It is me running from God or from what God has asked me to do. It doesn’t always look like running. Sometimes it is simply avoiding, not making time, or getting distracted by all the other “things” I put on my to do list. Regardless, it is me NOT doing the thing God has asked me to do. It is knowing that the Divine Creator has spoken something to me and I am knowingly avoiding a response like any other “right” thing we avoid.
A missionary I once knew who traveled into “unsafe” countries once said, “There is no safer place than in the will of God.”
Similarly, it seems to hold true that there is no more peaceful place than in the will of God.
If you, like me have avoided something God is asking you to do, there is good news that we can remember especially at this time of year. His mercies are new every day. He will not punish you for coming to Him too late, or because you have made too big of a mess, or because you have delayed. He has FORGIVENESS, PEACE and REST available and new every day and every year.
Will you accept it today?
If you have never truly considered Jesus, today is the day. You do not have to commit to anything at this moment but perhaps you feel a nudging in your unsettled soul? Be curious. Pick up the Bible. Ask God to show you His rest in Jesus.
