"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."-Lamentations 3:22-23
The Scriptures portray God as perfectly holy. Not one of us can measure up to His moral standards. Man's disregard for these standards in the days of Noah was so blatant that the Lord destroyed the first world. If He were to keep an account of our sins and deal with us accordingly, no adult would be alive today! This statement is not as much an indictment against our depravity as it is a testimony of God's holiness.
Through our grasping the latter, we see the former more clearly. That is, as we learn about God we learn the truth about ourselves. Our natural tendency is to have an exaggerated impression of ourselves and an oversimplified picture of God. With time and study, however, we will come to know the many facets of His person, and the revelation begins to hit home as to how holy He is. What becomes abundantly clear is that every one of us has fallen short of His mark.
Against this backdrop, the Lord's compassions are new each morning. He forgives us of our sins when we repent and ask Him to. Through His Holy Spirit, He guides and directs us into all truth. He gives us the wherewithal to overcome our personal struggles. He even gives us a space for repentance when we persist in disobedience. These are just a few ways in which He manifests His compassions.
Clearly, whatsoever success we have experienced in our pursuit of moral excellence, it is by His compassions that we have come this far, and by His compassions we will make it to the end.
Dear God in heaven, I desire to be more like You. Thank You for the many compassions You continue to show me in those areas I fall short. Great is Your faithfulness. Amen.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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