What Keeps Us Alive
Lamentations 3:21-26
"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 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. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him."
The story goes that a neighbor of John Witherspoon came to visit him in his office. Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was president of what is now Princeton University. The man said, “Dr. Witherspoon, you must join me in giving thanks to God for his extraordinary providence in saving my life, for as I was driving from Rocky Hill the horse ran away and the buggy was smashed to pieces on the rocks, but I escaped unharmed!” Witherspoon replied, “I can tell you a far more remarkable providence than that. I have driven over that road hundreds of times. My horse never ran away, my buggy never was smashed, I was never hurt.”
God is always good to us, but we tend to be more appreciative when we see special instances of the provision and protection He provides for us, not because of our merit, but because of His mercy. Yet daily we are the beneficiaries of a loving Father in Heaven who sees every need and every danger and watches over us so we are not destroyed. Each day that we live in a fallen world, we are in need of His mercy, and we should be grateful for receiving it in ways both large and small.
Too often we are like the lepers Jesus healed on His way to Jerusalem. Despite the miracle they received, only one returned to give thanks. “And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” (Luke 17:17). Ingratitude is an ugly sin against a merciful God.
Growth Principle:
We should never take God's loving care and protection for granted.