…my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness[a] is;
18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[b]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
God of mercy, help us to call this to mind–these words that tell us that your mercies never come to an end. Help us call them to mind, that they are new every morning, and that your faithfulness is great.
Help us to call them to mind when the night is short, and plagued with difficult things; things that cause us to drown and to choke. When our souls are bereft of peace.
Help us to call them to mind, when the expectations of others seem impossible.
Help us when happiness is nothing but an important display for the world. Help us when it is joy we long for.
Help us, when endurance has perished. When we know there is no other choice but to take another step. To keep doing the hard work set before us. You provide our endurance.
Help us, when others turn their backs on us and abandon, even when we deserve it.
Help us, when hope seems absent, even when we know that it isn’t. We do, God, we know that it isn’t. It just seems elusive, some days. It just seems fogged over, on certain mornings. On this morning.
Help us to remember that you are our portion. You are our portion. And therefore, we will hope in You. We will hope in you, until that hope becomes more than our preaching to ourselves. Our turning of the words “I will hope” in our minds over and over again. We will hope in you, until those words become more than words.
Until the settled truth of the words take root. Until we become settled, in you. Because your mercies are new every morning. Even this morning.
