Daily Grace and Love

Lamentations 3:22-24  New International Version (NIV)

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

    for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

    great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

    therefore I will wait for him.”

Most mornings I lie in bed for a moment to orient myself. And I start to process my thoughts. Sometimes I lie for a few moments. Sometimes I jump right up and get going.

I start thinking first about the day- what I need to do, who needs to be where, how to arrange my time. I reach for the iPhone and look at the news, Instagram, etc., and quickly get myself lured all over the internet. Right at the get-go, I  fall into the lies of the enemy and I begin dreading the day or feeling overwhelmed by it, and then I try to fight the burdens building up in me on my own. 

THEN... I think of God, and say to myself, “Oh yeah, I need to be with God!” As if meeting with God is an appointment on my checklist. I open the Bible, read, and pray. Why didn’t I realize that daily, all these years, I have been treating God like another one of my to-do’s?. 

As I read the verse above, I realize what God is offering me every morning. New grace and forgiveness every morning.  All the while, God my Father has been so good, and so faithfully generous to me. He watches me beating myself down...and He waits for me. He is ready and waiting for me to see it!

What if I began each day in a new way, just as I start to wake up in those first moments.  “Good morning, God. Thank for what you are giving me today - a new fresh start, and forgiveness for all my failings yesterday. Thank you for your love and faithfulness to me. All my concerns, my plans, and my agenda are yours, and I will not be alone. Thank you God because you are Sovereign and everything is under your domain. I give this day to you.”

The Holy Spirit will overcome all my negativity, all my anxieties, all the burdens that press overwhelmingly. I think this will make a difference in my relationship with God!