New Mercies for a New Morning

August 20, 2026

From Pastor Eileen States

“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.”  Lamentations 3:22–23

I love mornings. There is something about waking up to a new day that feels like a fresh start. (Yes, I am a morning person) Whatever happened yesterday is behind us, and we have another opportunity to begin again.

Of course, not every morning feels like a fresh start. Sometimes we wake up already thinking about the things that went wrong yesterday. Maybe we're worried about a family situation, a difficult decision, our health, our finances, or something we simply can't seem to fix. Sometimes we carry yesterday's disappointments right into today's morning.

That's what makes these verses in Lamentations so meaningful to me. Jeremiah wasn't writing these words because everything was going well. Quite the opposite. He was looking at the destruction of Jerusalem and grieving over everything that had happened. There was plenty of sadness and uncertainty around him. Yet, in the middle of all of it, he stopped and remembered something important. 

“His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.” 

In other words, God is still here. I think we sometimes forget that. We can become so focused on what is happening around us that we forget to look at the One who is with us through it. We may not understand what God is doing. We may not know how a situation is going to turn out. But we can know that His mercy has not run out.

Every morning, God gives us what we need for that day. Not necessarily everything we want. Not all the answers to our questions. Not a guarantee that the day will be easy. But He gives us Himself, and His compassion is enough to carry us through.

I especially love the phrase “they are new every morning.” God doesn't expect us to live today on yesterday's strength. Yesterday's struggles were met with yesterday's grace and mercy. Today has its own challenges, and God has fresh mercy for those challenges too.

Maybe this is something you needed to hear. You don't have to figure everything out today. You don't have to carry tomorrow today. And you don't have to be afraid that you've somehow used up God's patience or mercy. When you wake up tomorrow morning, God's mercy will be there before you are. The circumstances may not have changed overnight. The problem you've been praying about may still be there. But you will NOT face it alone.

“Great is Your faithfulness.”

That was true for Jeremiah in the middle of Jerusalem's devastation, and it's still true for us today. Yesterday is over. Tomorrow isn't here yet. But God's mercy is already waiting for you this morning. And that is a pretty good way to start the day.