Hi, this is Joni Tada, and if you know the hymn, sing along…
(Joni sings:)
Great is thy faithfulness, oh God my father
There is no shadow of turning with thee.
Thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not
As thou has been, thou forever will be.
Great is thy faithfulness, great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hands have provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.
That might be an old hymn, and it might be well-worn, but I sure love that line, “Morning by morning, new mercies I see.” Look, living in this wheelchair of mine ain’t as easy as it was even five years ago. So when the morning dawns and my alarm clock goes off, I barely get my eyes open and I’m already praying, “Oh, Jesus, without you today, I just won’t make it. Please lead the way. Thank you for however much grace you want to pour out on me today, ’cause I’ll take it, I receive it, I need your help.”
If you wake up that way (I mean, you know, needing God a whole lot),then welcome to the club. There are a lot of us in that club, the one they call “The Fellowship of Sharing in Christ’s Sufferings,” and the way you join the club is to simply run to Jesus for every hurt and hardship… you recognize him as Lord, and you reach out to him as Savior. I’ve got a friend named Nancy who’s in that club… in fact, she’s down in Australia right now and I got an email from her early yesterday morning in which she wrote, “Joni, I know your day is still just getting started; it’s only in its infancy, and mine is winding down – I’m 15 hours later than you here in Australia. And, Joni, I want to assure you (since I have already lived Wednesday), I want to tell you that God shows up; I’ve lived Wednesday, and I can attest to the fact that He arrives. So there you have it. You have nothing to fear! Oh, and one more thing, Joni: He reminded me that his mercies will still be there when I wake up tomorrow morning on Thursday, and you are still sleeping away.”
I know for a fact one of Nancy’s favorite verses is from Lamentations 3. It’s where one hurting prophet from the club of those who suffer says, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Oh, by the way, I hit the reply button right away on Nancy’s email and I reminded her of the words of that wonderful hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” But I added one thing – I wrote, “Morning by morning, new mercies I see” – and also afternoon – by afternoon and evening, by evening new mercies we see as well. And, friend, whether you live in Australia or somewhere here in America, every mid-morning, every noon time, every afternoon and evening his mercies are new. Even when you wake up in the middle of the night tonight, fresh mercies you will see.
Be assured that God is here, he’s in it, he’s with you, he’s arrived, so there’s no need to fear. Join the club and run to Jesus for every hurt… recognize him as Lord. He’ll shower you with his mercies, fresh and new, no matter what the time of day.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends