God's Children and the Thing That Won't Wear Out

By Paul Tripp, CP Guest Columnist Sunday, August 25, 2013

Have you noticed that everything in your life wears out? The sweater that you loved so much and wore winter after winter is now stuffed in the bottom drawer of your dresser, threadbare, unused, and unwanted. The car that excited you so and that even smelled new is now just a car with scratches and squeaks to prove it. The stain-resistant carpet ended up not being so stain-resistant after all.

The list could go on and on, but the point is that this side of heaven, everything in your life wears out somehow, someway. In fact, even you wear out. Your body grows old, weak, and tired. Your joints hurt because they're wearing out from all the stress of exercise over the many years of your life.

It's something you and I are used to. So we're happy when a car or an appliance lasts for ten years before it wears out. We're all quite accustomed to living in a world where things simply don't last.

But, if you're one of God's children, there's something in your life that won't wear out. In fact, it has the amazing capacity to be new day after day after day. Scripture says that God's mercies are "new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

Now you know you need mercy, because you know you need forgiveness and help. Almost every day you mess up in some way. Almost every day you face things that are bigger than the size of your personal wisdom and strength. You and I constantly need the mercy of forgiveness and the mercy of enablement. And so, it's very encouraging to know that God's mercy is new every day! God's mercy never grows stale and it never loses its transforming power. God's mercy is brand new morning after morning after morning.

This also means that God's mercy is form-fit for the problems that you're facing right here, right now. Each morning you're given new mercies for the particular things that you'll face that day.

So, you can wake up tomorrow with courage and hope. And you can do this, not because of your strength and wisdom, but because you know that the most important thing you've ever been given will never wear out. You can also have hope because you know that the God who's given that new mercy knows exactly what you're about to face.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Share some evidence of things that are wearing out in your everyday life.
2. How did you mess up yesterday? Were you grateful for the mercy of forgiveness?
3. What are you facing this week that is too big for your own strength and wisdom?
4. How can you practically take advantage of "new morning mercies" today?

Paul David Tripp is a pastor, author, and international conference speaker. He is the president of Paul Tripp Ministries and works to connect the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life. This vision has led Paul to write 13 books on Christian living and travel around the world preaching and teaching. Paul's driving passion is to help people understand how the gospel of Jesus Christ speaks with practical hope into all the things people face in this broken world. For more resources, visit www.paultripp.com.