The Greatest: Faithfulness
FEBRUARY 3, 2024

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23

Recommended Reading: 2 Timothy 2:11-13
Mercy and grace are different. Grace means receiving blessings we don’t deserve; mercy means not receiving discipline or punishment we do deserve. While both grace and mercy are present throughout the Bible, in very general terms the Old Testament is the story of mercy, while the New Testament is the story of grace.

Why is the Old Testament the story of mercy? Because of how unfaithful Israel was to God and how faithful (loyal) He was to them. Israel deserved to be judged—and was judged at times—but God always restored them. His love never failed. As Jeremiah wrote when Jerusalem was destroyed by Babylon, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed” permanently. God’s faithfulness was great; His compassion for Israel was renewed with the rising sun every morning. Paul highlighted God’s faithfulness when he wrote that even if we are unfaithful, God is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

Thank God today for His great faithfulness to you, that His mercy and compassion never fail. In spite of our sins, His mercy and grace are always present (1 John 1:9).

Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see.
Thomas O. Chisholm