Fresh Compassion

"They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:23 (NIV)

I was sick as a dog for six weeks during college. Every day, I dreaded Professor Master's accounting class because he was the most intimidating instructor on campus. He'd randomly call on students, and you had to be ready for anything. But somehow, he noticed I was struggling. For those entire six weeks, he never called on me once. Without his compassion, I might still be sitting in that classroom today, feverishly trying to solve accounting problems.

That professor showed me something we all desperately need: compassion. In today’s verse, Jeremiah describes the Lord’s compassion as chadash. That Hebrew word means that God’s mercies are not just renewed, but completely new each morning. Like snowflakes, no two acts of God's compassion are identical. Each day brings fresh mercy specifically designed for your needs today.

Think about your age in days, not years. If you're twenty-one, you've experienced over 7,600 unique acts of God's compassion. By retirement age, nearly 24,000 individual mercies have sustained your life.

You wake each morning to discover that new expressions of God's love await. Yesterday's compassion was beautiful, but today's will be different: perfectly suited for your challenges, hurts, and hopes today.

Your God never runs out of creative ways to show you mercy. The same God who painted this morning's sunrise has custom-designed new mercy for the exact heartache you’re carrying today.

Prayer: Father, thank You for fresh mercy for every minute of every day. Open my eyes to see Your endless compassion each morning and each moment. Help me recognize Your new mercies throughout this day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.