How You Can Seize Those New Morning Mercies

Do you ever get tired of taking the same sins to God over and over, asking for his forgiveness and his help, and then failing once again? I sure do, and so I read God’s promise of rest in the book of Hebrews with hope and longing. The writer puts his finger on the origin of Israel’s chronic problem with disobedience, and I think we can all identify with it:

It all begins with unbelief.

I fail to believe that God will protect or provide, and so I worry.
I don’t think he is moving things along as quickly as I’d like, so I shift into manipulation mode.
Every sin we commit can be traced back to a failure to believe God’s promises or to trust in his faithfulness.

The good news is found in Hebrews 4:3: “We who have believed enter that rest.” The book establishes a cadence that defines the rhythm of the “normal” and healthy Christian life:
Today, today, today, today, today.
Five times the author uses the word.
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 4:7, 15)
“Exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today…” (Hebrews 3:13)

Repent.
Believe.
Start again today.
This is what “new morning mercies” look like.
Begin fresh.
When the wheels come off, repeat.
Again.
Repent.
Believe.
This is the message for the believer and for the unbeliever!
Keep entering his rest.

The following life requires faith in the present moment. We cannot rely on some historical faith any more than we would trust last year’s weather forecast for tomorrow’s picnic.

This is the “striving” mentioned in Hebrews 4:11—”Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” Paradoxically, our rest from sin is also a striving toward holiness. We work toward holiness as we “consider Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1) and as we move to the rhythm of daily repentance and belief.

Sin is exhausting.
In Christ, we have the hope of entering his rest.

The following life requires faith in the present moment. We cannot rely on some historical faith any more than we would trust last year’s weather forecast for tomorrow’s picnic.

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Holding You in the Light,

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