“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)
I write a lot about clinging to the Lord through pain,
sorrow, and darkness on this blog—more, I think, than I intend to or realize. I
have reasons for it—I do—and perhaps it is an attempt to fill in the void left
by Christian culture. We don’t like to talk about the shadowy parts of
ourselves, preferring instead to shroud ourselves in happy faces and uplifting verses.
In attempting to fill this void, my posts often dwell in the
darkness, focusing on the anguish and hopelessness of settling in Sheol. But I’ve
come to realize that I haven’t written much on His mercies.
So I will today, in this short, simple post—proclaim and mediate on the mercies of the
holiest God, the Maker who knows us intimately.
The small mercies—the small,
beautiful mercies.
These are the ones that shine through the sludge of dark
days. They can often be tiny, sometimes almost imperceptible, until we observe
them by way of contemplation. But at their core, they reveal to us sense of
protection and intimacy. That we are known,
we are seen, we are loved and never abandoned by our Father.
After long season of trial, I have noticed these in a
deeper, more profound way than I might have before I entered into that period
of my life. Now, they are like sunshine on a cloudy day to my spirit; like
pieces of white light piercing through the impermeable night. I cannot help but
get on my knees before God and thank Him for them—I cannot help but sing
praises to His holy name in the face of these mercies or write poetry to glorify
Him.
How do they look?
Sometimes an encouraging,
perfect word from a friend.
Beams of beautiful
light shining across the bedspread from the window after a difficult, restless night.
An answer to a prayer long
pressed against a corner of my heart.
Seeing and
understanding a scripture in a new way.
A miraculous, unforeseen
provision for a financial need.
A sudden, unexplained feeling of peace when anxiety had begun to take hold.
But always bright and shining, always good and perfect, always
sweet and never bitter, always lovely and tender, always gentle and perfectly
timed.
These, and more—mercies from a God sees and who meets us
where we are in the darkness.
Small, beautiful mercies—where do you see them today?
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