His Mercies Aren’t Just New

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 ESV)

When we’ve come to the end of ourselves, it’s a relief to know God’s mercies are new every morning. I’ve even heard friends lament, “I really screwed up today!” then say, “Thankfully I’ll get some new mercy tomorrow.”

God’s mercy and compassion toward us are good news. But sometimes I wonder if we’ve associated this idea of daily mercy with the daily portions of manna the Israelites gathered in the wilderness. In a sense the manna was also “new every morning,” but it was only good the day it was gathered. After that, it got smelly and full of maggots. Thinking of God’s mercy in this way could cause us to miss the depth and breadth of it.

When the Bible says God’s mercies are new every morning, it’s not the same as getting a daily portion of mercy that expires if we don’t use it. And it’s not saying we get a finite portion of mercy that can be depleted or exhausted by the end of a rough day.

The Hebrew word for “new” used here is often translated “fresh,” or “renew.” So when Jeremiah writes that God’s mercies are never ending and “new” every morning, he’s describing an infinitely renewable resource. Imagining water helps me visualize God’s storehouses of mercy. Every morning there’s a fresh layer of dew in addition to the inexhaustible well we already have to draw from.

If you look at the lives of the heroes of faith, you can see hints of this. When Moses faced a terrified crowd over a million strong with his back to the sea and a powerful army headed straight for him, one daily dose of mercy wouldn’t cut it. He needed more. Moses had peace in that moment because he was accessing new mercy in real time and drawing from the reservoir of mercy that had accumulated in his spirit over decades of walking with God.

The apostle Paul faced several life-or-death moments with supernatural peace, but he had spent years walking with God, deepening the well of mercy he would draw from in those times of intense pressure.

I recently had this realization after an especially crazy day. My husband and I were leaving on a mission trip, and our kids were going to spend time with their grandparents. I needed to pack for all seven of us. Our trip landed right before a major holiday, so I was also shopping and prepping for our celebration. Then I got a last-minute invitation to speak at a conference right before we were scheduled to fly out. I accepted, planned my talk in the car on the way there, and received an amazing reception.

I don’t share any of this to brag. Normally I’m careful not to overcommit myself or let life get so hectic. In this case, however, we sensed God was urging me to go for it, even though there was no way I could pull off that day on my own. On the way back from the conference, my husband congratulated me on coming up with that talk on the fly. The truth is I didn’t have the presence of mind to do that. The message came out of what God had been doing in my heart over the last decade.

That’s when I realized my view of God’s mercy was too finite. Yes, it’s fresh, and it’s always being renewed, but it’s also inexhaustible, and not limited by my limits.

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Hannah Kallio is an Israeli who’s at home in France, Italy, and Minnesota. A homemaker who had it all, gave it all away, and lived out of a backpack. She loves one man, 5 kids, and the crazy story God is writing in their lives even more than palm trees, ancient ruins, and deepest dark chocolate. She writes, coaches, speaks, sings, and creates her guts out at hannahkallio.org.

Photograph © Bethany Beams, used with permission