Articles
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23, ESV).
Just pause think about that. Isn’t that amazing? Doesn’t it just cause you to want to say, “Thank you!”
Lamentations is a book that is dreary. It is primarily about the terrible consequences of sin. It tells the depths of human sorrow, not just of one individual but the whole nation. Yet, amid all this, the faith of Jeremiah soars.
“His steadfast love never ceases.” In a world where people use the word love so flippantly and casually, this is overwhelming. We cannot even fathom it. God’s love never ceases. He loved us when we were His enemies (Rom. 5:8). To be like Him, He commands us to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44). His love is immeasurable. It is hard to comprehend how deep, wide, long, and high His love is (Eph. 3:19). Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:8). His love is so immense that He lovingly gave His only Son (John 3:16). His love never ceases; how can that be? Our love does. How can His love never cease? Because God is love (1 John 4:8).
“His mercies never come to an end.” That means there is never a time, no matter how horrific my sins have been, when His mercy stops. His mercy is always available for us. His mercy was available for David when he sinned with Bathsheba. His mercy was available for Saul of Tarsus who was devoted to persecuting those of The Way. We may think our sins are so bad that God could never have mercy on us. We may think His ways are so beyond our understanding that we can never live up to His expectations. If we think that way, we do not know God. “His mercies never come to an end.” That takes my breath away.
“His mercies are new every morning.” Not only do His mercies never come to an end, every day they are new all over. He never holds a grudge. He never feels like He must get even. He never vows to do us harm. He never responds in kind. When the sun rises in the morning, His mercies are new all over again. It is not a replenishing of His mercies. It is a refreshing of His mercies. Every sunrise they are new, fresh, and available, just like the day before and the day before that. Can we not see His love is never-ending and His mercies never come to an end? And, every morning they are new? Can we not see how He longs to spare me justice and wants to grant me grace? His mercy never grows old, never tires, and never wears out. We will not weary God asking for His mercy. It is new every morning.
“Great is His faithfulness.” Faithfulness can also mean trustworthy. He is always true, genuine, countable, constant, and dependable. He cannot lie (Tit. 2:10). He is not versed in evil. He never traffics in harm, nor is He double-minded. From morning to morning His faithfulness is always there. We can trust Him. We can depend on Him. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He has never forsaken us. He holds us in His everlasting arms. It is so important for us to know that, when we have been unfaithful to Him, He is still faithful. He will not turn His back on us and walk away in frustration. He is faithful. He will never give up on us.
Jeremiah says, “The LORD is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I will hope in Him.”
“God is my portion,” means that God is the source of his love and mercy. Jeremiah is content with all that the Lord is and provides. He has the best inheritance imaginable and does not seek any possession or comfort outside of God. If God is our portion, we need nothing else.
“Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father. There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changes not, Thy compassion they fail not; as Thou hast been Thou forever will be” (Thomas O. Chisholm and Wm. M. Runyan).
Rickie Jenkins
