His Compassions Never Fail

Lamentations 3:22-24
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."


When we have one of those days, weeks, months or even years when everything seems to be going wrong, and nothing seems to go our way, how do we face another day of trouble and disappointment? Even when it’s a mess of our own making, this passage can be a refuge, because truly, God’s compassions never fail.

Sometimes it seems like the most difficult thing to do is to turn to God and simply say "HELP!" but that is exactly what we must do. We must see that God is with us, giving us His great compassions each and every day. He is faithful and He will not leave us hanging. We must wait for Him, and His timing, and we must learn to trust Him and His plan for our life, even when it seems hopeless.

Many times I think that God allows difficult times in our lives to bring us back to Himself. He wants us to come to Him and see that He really has everything we need for every situation. He is our portion, and He desires to fill us with all that He has to offer, especially in times of trouble or need. In our darkest hour, He is our hope, our refuge, our strength, and so much more. So let us say, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him."

Promises of God

Genesis 15:4-5; 21:1-5
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars-if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." . . . Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.


Can you imagine having a child at the ripe age of 100? I have a three-year-old, and she takes pretty much all my energy. I can’t imagine having to chase after her at 103! Yet, this promised child of Abraham’s was so precious, because he had been waiting so long to hold him in his arms. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to wait 15 years for this child, knowing he was coming. God spoke the promise to Abraham, and yet He did not fulfill that promise until about 15 years later! I would imagine that each and every month he and Sarah waited with baited-breath to see if this was the month. I would bet that not a day went by when Abraham didn’t think about it at least once. He probably fell asleep at night wondering what the child would look like, and imagining all the adventures they would have together. I wonder, do you think it completely dominated his thoughts, or was he able to just go on living, understanding that the promise would be fulfilled in God’s perfect time?

Has God spoken a promise unto your heart? A sweet and precious promise that you hold so dear, so close, that not a day goes by without your thinking about it, meditating on it, praying about it? This is one of the most difficult situations, I think, living with an un-fulfilled promise, just waiting for God to move His mighty hand, and bring it about. While we believe in and hope for this precious promise, we must also go on living each day, following God. We cannot let it so dominate our thoughts that we are not living our lives here and now.

Every time this un-fulfilled promise comes to mind, let’s just lift our hands in praise and prayer, for the moment, and simply give it back to God. Give it back to Him, because, really, until He does what He has promised, it is in His hands – it is His promise. Let this be a way that we can practice our trust in Him, walking in the knowledge that we are being prepared for this great and precious promise. For the time-being, we are just exactly where He wants us, where He needs us. Somehow, in the midst of it all, we need to live our lives, enjoying each day, not staking our entire hope and happiness on this promise that is yet to come. Our hope must be in the Lord, and the promise of salvation through Christ.

So, until your promise comes to you, there is no need to worry or fret, because not a single one of the Lord’s promises has ever failed or gone unfulfilled. Amen.

The Embrace of Christ

1 Corinthians 13:12
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.


Glimpses of heaven, of the great glory of God, are what keep me going each day. Whether it is in the laugh of my daughter, a beautiful day, or a touching and powerful quiet-time, these mere reflections mean so much to me. I believe that God allows us these glimpses, these peeks into the heart of Jesus to keep us longing for heaven, to help us persevere until the end.

Consider the joy these glimpses bring to your heart, the thrill and excitement that spring forth when we taste the goodness of the Lord. Consider that they are "but a poor reflection" of what God has in store for us. Today we live moment to moment, hoping for a glimpse of the One who stirs our hearts, but "then" we will see Him face to face! Oh how my heart leaps! Even now we are full of His great love, His thick, lavish love. Yet, all this we only know in part – I don’t think we could handle the full glory of His love.

Some time ago, I was meditating on what His love is like. I was really trying to take it in, to comprehend it completely and fully. Then it occurred to me that here on earth we cannot fully experience His immense love for us – one of the tragedies of being here. It was in that place that God gave me a glimpse of what heaven could be like. I saw people, some I knew and loved, some I didn’t recognize, receiving their welcome into the Kingdom of Heaven – an embrace from Jesus. As each one walked into His arms, I heard Him whisper in their ear, "I’m so glad you’re here, I’ve been waiting for you! I love you so much." And with that embrace, with His sweet whisper in their ear, they would simply collapse in His arms and begin to sob on His shoulder, as the full weight and understanding of His immense love fell upon their hearts. There they would stand, and Christ would simply hold each one. It was beautiful, powerful – mere words do not give it justice.

That is what I see when I read this verse. "Now we know in part," His great and lavish love, "then we shall know fully, even as we will be fully known."

Resting On God

Deuteronomy 33:12
"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."

When my daughter was an infant, she wanted to be held all the time, like most children. So, we eventually got a little carrier so we could strap her on and go about our business. When she was sick, or tired, or just needed snuggling, this was the best thing in the world. She would rest her head on my chest, and sleep for hours – the rhythm of my heart-beat soothing her weary soul.

We too get tired, or sick, or just need an embrace, and these are the times we must turn to our heavenly Father. We must let Him carry us, protect us, we must let Him hold us, so that we can simply rest, rest secure in Him.

My daughter still loves to be held, even though she is older (and bigger). My husband and I have found that it’s easiest to put her up on our shoulders, now. We don’t always carry her when she wants, but there is one time when she insists on being held, and we oblige her – during our bedtime prayers. She loves to climb on my husband’s back, as he bows on bended knee. It is such a precious sight to see him bowing in reverence to our Lord and Savior, and then to see our daughter resting on him – physically and spiritually.

We too can climb on our Father’s back, and He will carry us – physically and spiritually. This is not your journey, or my journey – we do not traverse this world alone. We have a Father that will carry us when we are weary, weak, frail, tired. And as He continues down the narrow road, we can rest secure in Him, between His mighty shoulders.

Look To Our Maker

Isaiah 17:7-8
In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel. They will not look to the altars, the work of their hands, and they will have no regard for the Asherah poles and the incense altars their fingers have made.


Why is it that we have a tendency to idolize and look up to everything but God? Even those things that are intended to direct our attention to God can end up taking His place. Our pastors, our Bibles, our quiet-time, even our service can become a replacement for the Lord Himself.

How often do we say, "if I only had more faith." We cannot have faith in our faith, because that is not faith at all. We must have faith in God. And if that is truly where our faith is placed, then we already have enough. Because it is not the amount of faith we have – any faith will do – it is our mighty God, in Whom our faith is placed, that makes the difference.

We might even say that a certain person is an amazing pray-er. "His prayers have such great strength and power – we need to have him pray for us." When, in fact, it has nothing to do with the prayer or the one who is whispering it. Rather, it has everything to do with the One listening to, and answering it. Any prayer will do – just take it to God.

We do not hold the key. We do not have the answers. We cannot find any of what we need in anything or anyone here on earth. And until we realize that, we are going to feel lost, incomplete, and disjointed. We must look to God, and Him alone. He alone holds the key. He alone has all the answers. We must get our eyes off our "alters" – all things we consider holy and sacred; our "incense altars" (which represent prayer in the Old Testament) – all that we do in our hope of reaching God; even our Asherah poles – all the stuff that the world throws in our direction hoping to get our attention; and we must turn our eyes to the Holy One of Israel.

That’s it. That’s life. Looking to God is what life is all about. Nothing more. Because when we look to Him, everything else comes into perfect focus – His focus. You want adventure? Look to God. You want peace? Look to God. You want freedom? Look to God. You want wisdom? Patience? Joy? Security? Love? Self-control? Life? Look to God, and Him alone.

Let’s really take time today to think and pray about this. Is there anything that we have elevated too high? It could be a person, a thing, a service or action. Even those things we do as part of our Christian service and duty can get in the way of our looking to God. I couldn’t begin to tell you of all the things that I considered part of my becoming a "better Christian" that ended up turning my attention away from the only One Who could truly make me better.

So, let’s ask God, and listen. He will, no doubt, tell us exactly what we have elevated too high, and will help us to re-focus on Him. Let’s allow Him to lift our chins until our eyes meet His, and we are forever changed.

God's Work In Us

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.


There are days when the Christian life, and how it is supposed to be lived out, seems like a mirage, an illusion, an impossibility. We look at ourselves in the mirror, and we see ourselves - each flaw, each shortcoming, each way we failed to life up to the standard that day. And it seems the more we strive, and the harder we work, the harder we fall.

Ah, but we are given a promise - it will happen, we will be sanctified through and through. God, Himself will do it! Isn’t that amazing? The Almighty God of this universe has called us - He has called us to be kept blameless, body, mind, and spirit - and He will do it. I love that part. It doesn’t say that He wants us to do it, or that He will help us do it. No. It says that He will do it. He will sanctify us through and through. He will keep us blameless at the coming of our Lord.

How? He’s already done it! He took our every fault and sin and shortcoming and failure, past, present, and future, and He placed them on the marred and disfigured shoulders of His beloved Son. He made a trade - our sin for Christ’s righteousness. "It is finished," right? Not, "It has just begun." It was done, complete, and perfect when Jesus gave up His spirit. That trade happened long before we were even born. And it is the working of that righteousness in us that continues to change us, and mold us, and form us into the glorious creatures God originally intended. It is nothing we do, it is everything God has done.

So, let’s get off our own backs, stop fighting it, beating ourselves up, and just be. We need to just stop and let God do His thing, His beautiful, glorious work in us. Let’s just look to Him and praise Him, because the One who calls us is faithful and He will do it. Amen!