I wake to the sound of a screaming child, yelling at the pain she feels in her little tummy. It’s hard to watch my baby struggle through sickness.

How many times have I woken up tonight? I’m too tired to count.

My mind drifts to my uncompleted To-Do list from the day.

How did I accomplish so little today? How am I going to get it all done on so little sleep tomorrow?

Then my mind ponders the headlines from the past day. So much tragedy and hurt.

Anxiety sets in and pushes out the peace and abiding trust from my heart.

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Then I remember…

God is faithful. His mercies are new every morning.

I need it. I need the Lord’s fresh mercies desperately. I’m a mess without His grace. I’m powerless to concur my sin without His power. In my own strength, I fail, over and over again. This pre-heaven life is hard. We are living in the tension of the already accomplished, but not yet fully realized, gift of eternal life.

One of the things I often hear people get excited about in the new year is a fresh start. The old year with its struggles is behind them and the hope of the new year with new possibilities brings excitement. As Christians, we don’t have to wait until we start a new calendar to have a fresh start.

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
Lamentations 3:22-25 ESV

The Lord gives new mercies, not just on New Years Day, but every day. He gives us new opportunities to run into His arms, and more and more reasons to seek Him. He forgives our past mistakes to draw us into Himself for His glory and our good. He is our hope when the challenges of this world come upon us.

When we mess up our New Years resolutions this year, we don’t have to define ourselves by that failure. When we yell at our kids, quit on our exercise program, and revert back to that bad habit, Christ is there to cover us in His mercy. He forgives, and He restores. God loves to work in our weakness. His glory is on display when we admit our weakness and rely on His strength.

This year, we don’t have to despair when the world looks like it is falling apart. God is still on His throne and He is still in control. We have the sufficient hope of Christ living inside of us, giving us strength and wisdom for each new day.

In Christ, we can walk in new mercies on New Year’s Day and every day this year.