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. Lamentations 3:22–23 (KJV)
The above passage is what formally ushered me into the church. I grew up Lutheran, and we were required to select and stitch into our minds and hearts a verse that would guide us on our faith journey. At twelve years old, the verse spoke to me in an innocent way, like a morning lullaby that soothes the uncertainty of the day.
As those uncertainties evolved from anxiety over a pop quiz in algebra to making the next month’s mortgage payment after I lost my job, I grew more dependent on that verse and God’s mercy.
During the great recession in 2008, my job was eliminated and I discovered I was expecting my first child. The news of my pregnancy was met with joy and anxiety from my husband and me as we wondered how we’d provide for our baby. Our stress was amplified a month after my daughter’s delivery when our portion of the maternity bill came due: $90,000. Mercy! When we opened the bill, we looked at each other and laughed. There wasn’t much else we could do.
But that night I prayed, desperately hoping the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 to “ask, seek, knock” would ring true in our lives. I asked Him for a financial miracle with the expectation that a windfall would sweep away our money woes. Instead, a week later we received a call from the hospital. Because we were able to confirm a substantial income loss, the debt was forgiven, gone, completely wiped out! Mercy.
FAITH STEP: Start your day with a thank-you to God for something He has done for you.
