PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS
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During the month of June, our focus will be on our calling to seek faithfulness to God and by extension, faithfulness to others. Seeking faithfulness is not the same thing as seeking perfection. When we seek to act right, do good, and find perfection, we do so based on our own strength and ability. When we seek faithfulness to God, we are seeking to join God in his work of being faithful.
In the passage that follows, the author expresses his appreciation of the faithfulness of the Lord:
22 The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
(Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT)
Faithful love
This passage begins by describing the love of God as being faithful. What does it mean for the love of God to be called faithful?
To be faithful is to be constant, steadfast, fixed in your support, able to fulfill your vows and commitments. So to say that the love of God is faithful is also to say that the love of God does not waver, diminish, fade, or quit. When the Lord purposed in his heart to love you, he did so with the intention of standing by his love for you, come what may.
Mercies never cease
What does it mean for the Lord to show us mercy?
Typically, we define mercy as the intentional choice of the powerful to withhold or defer punishment or discipline from the guilty who are of a weaker or lesser status.
The Lord is well within his rights and abilities to pour out his wrath toward our sin and rebellion. The fact that the Lord has chosen to bear the cost of this wrath upon himself rather than upon you and I speaks to the greatness of God’s mercy.
Example of Mercy
In the passage below, we hear another example of mercy:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
(Psalm 103:8-14 NIV11)
The Lord knows our weaknesses and needs and chooses to treat us with compassion, kindness, mercy and love. We are the recipients of God’s faithful mercy.
Mercies begin afresh
The giving of God’s gift of mercy is not a one-time event. The Lord does not show you kindness on the cross and then pour out wrath on your day-to-day failures.
The Psalmist wanted to show that God’s mercy was a gift that rose with the sun every day. As often as we wake up in this life, the Lord’s mercy will be present and fresh.
Hope in him
In Lamentations 3:24, we heard, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
Because God is faithful and his mercies are new with each day, we can look at the actions of the Lord and place our faith in his continued demonstration of mercy and compassion.
Hope is based on past action. What we have seen the Lord do in the past, we trust and hope that he will continue to do in the future.
If we have seen the past mercies and grace of God demonstrated through the work of Jesus Christ, then we will be able to trust him in the future.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, help me focus on who you are today. Help me to lift up my eyes and stop staring at my own problems, wants, and needs. Help me see you at work all around me. You have proven your love and your faithfulness to me on the cross and through your resurrection from the dead. Help me to hold tight to these acts of mercy. Help me to give you thanks for your faithfulness today.
In Christ,
Ryan Laden
PASTOR RYAN LADEN
Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH
Worked at MTN. CHURCH
Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church
Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at Baylor University
Studied at Texas Tech University
Went to Castle Hills First Baptist
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