Fresh Mercies in the Morning Snow
Have you noticed how some of the most profound spiritual truths are hidden in the most ordinary moments? Like watching snow fall for the umpteenth time and suddenly seeing something you've never seen before?
We've been experiencing unusual weather here in mid-Wales since the start of the year. Each night we've had a snowfall, not heavy or majorly significant, but enough to wake up to a lovely blanket of snow covering the ground. The days have been very cold yet sunny, so by the end of the day, much of the snow has melted, allowing us to see the muddy pastures and the wet asphalt of our driveway again. Then, overnight, another snowfall would come and leave a blanket of snow on the ground, only to be met that day by sunshine that would melt it. This process has repeated over and over again for several days now.
As I watched this cyclical pattern unfold, it struck me how much this resembles my spiritual life. Each morning I wake up with that white blanket of snow, spiritually speaking, fresh, clean, and beautiful. It's a reminder that God's mercies are new every morning, just as Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us:
"It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."
But throughout the day, as my frustrations grow or I snap at someone or make silly mistakes, that spiritual snow gradually melts away. The white blanket becomes patchy, revealing the not-so-pretty ground beneath. I can see where I've failed, where I've fallen short, where I've let the heat of the moment melt away the beauty of God's fresh mercies. By evening, I'm often looking at a rather dismal landscape, wondering how I managed to mess up yet another day.
But here's the beautiful part, the next morning, another lovely white blanket of snow is awaiting me. God doesn't look at yesterday's melted mess and say, "Well, you really blew it this time. No more fresh starts for you!" No! His mercies are new every morning. Every single morning. Not just on the days when we do better or try harder. Every morning.
The prophet Jeremiah penned these words while surrounded by the devastation of Jerusalem. Everything was crumbling around him, yet he found hope in God's daily renewal. If Jeremiah could see God's faithfulness in the midst of such destruction, surely we can see it in the midst of our daily frustrations and failures.
God's mercies are "new every morning" because they are perpetual and always available to those in need. There is no expiration date on God's mercy toward us.
Just like that snow covering the Welsh countryside each night, God covers our sins and failures with His grace. He leaves us as spiritually white as if we were covered by a deep blanket of snow, and underneath that covering lies newness of life. We may have made a mess of yesterday, but today is a fresh page, unmarked by yesterday's failures, filled with the promise of God's enduring grace.
So the next time you wake up to find snow covering the ground, let it remind you that God's mercies are covering you as well. No matter how badly you melted yesterday's blessings. No matter how many mistakes you made or how short you fell. God is faithful to give you a fresh start today. That's not a license to be careless with His grace, but rather an invitation to walk in the security of His unfailing love.
His mercies are new this morning. And they'll be new again tomorrow morning. And the morning after that. Great is His faithfulness!