There is a sparkle in the air on this chilly first day of Spring!

After a wet and messy weekend, the air is washed clean of pollen (for a moment), and light bounces off the new green of trees and grass. Budding flowers let me know that even though I need a jacket this morning, the warmth of spring days quickly approaches.

I love new, fresh, clean. I love the change that comes with the seasons God has created. I love the early morning sun that promises and ushers in a new day. And I am not the only one.

Hidden in the third chapter of the small book of Lamentations written by the weeping prophet, Jeremiah, are words that remind me why I love mornings.

²¹ This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. ²² It is of the Lord‘s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. ²⁴ The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. ²⁵ The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. ²⁶ It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

Each morning brings not just a new day but a new dose of God’s mercy and compassion, a new reminder of His great faithfulness.

Jeremiah the prophet suffered much in his life. He was tasked with telling God’s truth to a wandering and recalcitrant nation. He was ridiculed and persecuted, but he followed God’s calling. The first part of Lamentations chapter three expresses his despair and heartache. At the end, though, he is reminded that God is compassionate and faithful

• when life is hard
• when friends turn away
• when sorrow comes
• when sickness attacks
• when families fail
• when we don’t understand.

God’s mercies do not fail!

I wonder if Jeremiah was watching the sunrise when he penned these assurances from God. I wonder if God brought them to His mind after a long sleepless night of aloneness. I wonder.

I know that God has used these verses in my own life to remind me that no matter what is going on in this world or in my life or in my family’s lives, He is faithful. Therefore, I have hope. Not a wishful thinking maybe hope, but a calm and certain assurance that God will accomplish His will in my life. I can trust Him.

And He reminds me with a sunrise every morning!