This morning when I left our home the skies were still pitch black; there was not even a hint of the sun in the eastern sky. As I looked up I took in the most spectacular sight of the stars shining with all their glory. It was a moment that made me stop in my driveway and breathe in deeply the glory of God all about me. As I drove to my breakfast haunt, I left the sun roof (star roof?) of my car open just so I could continue to take in the panorama of God’s work. It was only 45 degrees outside, but I didn’t care. This was a time to recall God’s great mercy to me.
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says the soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24)
I love mornings with God. And I think He loves mornings too! Morning was one of the very first things He created. He established morning worship as one of the greatest duties of Israel’s Levites. Morning is a continuous sign of renewal.
This morning’s star field reminds me of God’s unremitting mercy. His steadfast love never ceases. His mercies never come to an end! Can I even begin to comprehend what this means to me? Mercy is when I don’t receive what I deserve. God’s mercy for me never stops. Why? Not just because He is a merciful God (and He is), nor because He is a good God (and He is), but because his love for me never ceases.
You might ask how I make this so personal. Because love is personal. One cannot love without there being an object of love. And faith is personal. One’s faithfulness cannot be recognized apart from the personal experience of it. When the poet wrote Lamentations 3:22-24, he meant that the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases to me! God’s mercies never come to an end for me! Great is God’s faithfulness to me!
Just to clear up any possible confusion the poet writes: “The LORD is my portion.” Stop and let those words soak in for a moment. I do not serve a distant God, or someone else’s God. The LORD is my portion! God gives Himself to me, shares His life, His creation, His thoughts, His very Word with me!
If you really want a mind-blowing concept, ask yourself this question: “Just how much of God is my portion?” Because of the natural limitations of the world in which we exist, we limit our thinking of what our portion means. If I receive my Dad’s delicious cherry pie for my birthday and I share it with my family members, I cut them each a piece, a portion. There is only so much cherry pie. Each person gets a portion of the limited amount of cherry pie.
But what limit is there with God? Is He not infinite in every capacity? Is He not eternal in every moment? Can I begin to fathom how big He is? Or how great He is? What limit is there to His thoughts? What limit is there to His creation?
If the LORD is my portion, and if the LORD is infinite and eternal, what limit is there to my portion of God? Every morning I am given another chance to contemplate His steadfast love and His never ending mercy to me. I swim in His Presence as I would swim in an ocean with no sight of land on any horizon.
When I take the opportunity to dip deeply into God during my early morning devotions, and when I look out my window and watch the sun break the horizon with dazzling brilliance, I have hope. This hope is NOT a shaky “might happen” kind of hope, but a rock-solid, confident kind of hope that God the Father is real. His son came to earth for me and intercedes for me at the Father’s right hand. His Spirit lives in and through me, guiding me, counseling me, and sustaining me.
Thank You, Father, for mornings. Thanks for the reminder of your love and mercy to me. Thank You for my portion! Thank You for my hope!
(Didn't catch the first three parts of why I love mornings with God? Check out Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.)
