New Mercies for a New Morning

“From sunrise to sundown, yesterday was not a particularly great day for many reasons,” posted my Facebook friend and Norma Jean’s second cousin, April Aiken. “If it could go wrong or be disastrous, it certainly did and was, and I was in no mood to socialize or smile.”

“So, as I finished the book I was reading last night (Anxious People by Fredrik Backman), the very last paragraph of the book struck me as extremely poignant given the day’s circumstances,” April wrote. “It truly could not have been more appropriate!”

“But when you get home this evening, when this day is over and the night takes us, allow yourself a deep breath. Because we made it through this day as well. There’ll be another one along tomorrow.”

Reflecting on the day and Backman’s advice, April said, “As I lay in bed, I took several deep breaths and thanked God for the day He had given me, despite its frustrations. I prayed for a restful night’s sleep and to wake up rested with a better outlook for tomorrow.”

Arising to a new day, she later shared, “I made it through yesterday, slept great, and another day came along, just like the book said. It’s already started off 1,000 times better than yesterday, so I think it’ll all be ok.”

Then, closing with this verse, April reminded us of the source of each day and the attitude we need to develop: “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Ps. 118:24).

Most of us have had days like April experienced—days of missteps and mistakes. Days of failure and frustration. Days of annoyance and anxiety. Days when people may have let us down by not showing up or following through. Days when unforeseen circumstances may have derailed our plans or disrupted our peace.

When those occasions occur, it’s helpful to find something for which we can be thankful. Paul admonished us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:18). Not every situation we face is pleasant. However, even when we face adversity, problems, and challenges, there is still something for which we can give thanks.

Thanksgiving is not dependent on a set of circumstances, but on a set of attitudes. We may not be happy about the situation we are in, but we can still be thankful while enduring it.

Furthermore, Jesus’ admonition is appropriate in times like these. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matt. 6:34). In modern terminology, the Master is simply saying, “Live one day at a time.”

Warren Wiersbe made a similar observation, “Worrying about tomorrow does not help either tomorrow or today. If anything, it robs us of our effectiveness today—which means we will be even less effective tomorrow.”

One practical way to overcome anxiety is to stay engaged in doing good. Be active. Be positive. Do something good for someone else. As Pat Schroeder said, “You can’t wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.”

Regardless of life’s challenges or a difficult day’s disappointments, the words of the prophet Jeremiah still ring true more than 2,500 years later.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning.
Great is Your faithfulness.”
(Lam. 3:22–23)

Yesterday’s frustrations do not have to define tomorrow’s outlook.  As the 19th-century essayist and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson advised: “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

—Ken Weliever, The Preacherman