Thankful, Day Fifty-Four

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before His presence with singing.

Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His mercy is everlasting,

And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100, NKJV

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning! Not only does His mercy last forever, not only is His mercy ultimately sufficient to meet everyone's need for it, not only will His mercy continue to reach out, and continue to reach out, and continue to reach out...it is able to make each day a brand new day!

We are people, made from the dust and on our way back to it. We are what we are made of--like I've said many times, we're just ugly dirt bags of mostly water. Sometimes we act like what we're made of. But the prophet also tells us to arise and shake ourselves from the dust. God's mercy is enough!

It's wonderful to know that God can take a poor, wretched sinner--someone who has lived a life in depravity and degradation, who has never done one redeeming thing in their lives--and through His own mercy transform them into a glorious saint! How the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner is saved! But I have to tell you, as someone who has been in church and known the Lord for as long as I can remember, who has made plenty of mistakes, committed many a sin, and done some wretched things even as a believer, it is wonderful to know that God's mercy is also extended to even me.

Because there are days when I need all the mercy I can get!

Thank you Lord for your patience and long-suffering with us, that you don't want us to perish, but desire us to live repentant lives with penitent hearts before you. I'm going to try to live each day better than I did the day before, I'm going to do it by your grace and through your mercy and love, but if I falter while I'm trying, don't be angry. Let me stay! I love you Lord, and will continue to try to do better.

Thank you Lord for your foreknowledge of my life, that at every twist and turn along the way, you have still been unfolding your wonderful plan and included me in it. Thank you Lord that you saw me before I was ever born, you knew everything I would ever do, ever say, ever think, ever feel. You knew everything that I would ever do, or that would ever be done to me. And through your mercy you made everything work out okay.

Thank you Lord for not blotting me out of existence when I walked a little further from you than I should have, or when I did things that I know were displeasing unto you. It is through your mercy that I was not consumed, through your mercy that I was not erased from the face of creation, and it is still through your mercy that I continue to walk humbly before you...ever aware that I'm surely not good enough, but you are!

I love you Lord, and am truly grateful for all the mercies you have shown to me.