New Year, New Mercies

Hope Joy X. Owens
Dec 29, 2025
4 min read

I dread social media most days while also being consumed by it. Part of the problem is that I manage a few social media accounts on the side, so I can’t really escape it. One of my responsibilities is keeping up with holidays, which brings me to my own business account: wouldn’t it be fun to post for random unofficial holidays or awareness days? And wouldn’t it be cool to also correlate the day with a Bible verse or bridge it to the Gospel? I think so, yes.

The first is New Years, and the phrase that came to my mind is “His mercies are new every morning.”

While no verse says this verbatim, the ESV reads in Lamentations, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

I’m not going to pretend that I’m a pro at Lamentations. I think someone already wrote out the context beautifully:

“The prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations in a time of grief and national mourning, after the once great city of Jerusalem fell to Babylon, circa 586 BC. The book describes great anguish—and great hope—in poetic form. The main theme of the book is God’s judgment on Judah’s sin as well as His compassion for His people. Lamentations contains ‘laments’ or ‘loud cries’ for Jerusalem and many expressions of anguish and pain, but in chapter 3, right in the middle of the book, there is a beautiful passage of confidence and hope.Jeremiah’s tone changes from despair to hope in Lamentations 3:21: ‘Yet this I call to mind / and therefore I have hope.’ From this and ensuing verses, we know that, even in the darkest times, God is faithful and will not cast off His people forever. Every day, every morning, God shows His mercy and compassion.”

You can read the full article by GotQuestions.

Lamentations 3:19-38 NASB

19 Remember my misery and my homelessness, the wormwood and [a]bitterness. 20 My soul certainly remembers, And [b]is bent over within me. 21 I recall this to my mind, Therefore I [c]wait. 22 [d]The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I [e]wait for Him.” 25 The Lord is good to those who [f]await Him, To the [g]person who seeks Him. 26 It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28 Let him sit alone and keep quiet, Since He has laid it on him. 29 Let him [h]put his mouth in the dust; Perhaps there is hope. 30 Let him give his cheek to the one who is going to strike him; Let him be filled with shame. 31 For the Lord will not reject forever, 32 For if He causes grief, Then He will have compassion In proportion to His abundant mercy. 33 For He does not [i]afflict [j]willingly Or [k]grieve the sons of mankind. 34 To crush under [l]one’s feet All the prisoners of the [m]land, 35 To [n]deprive a man of justice In the presence of the Most High, 36 To [o]defraud someone in his lawsuit— Of these things the Lord does not [p]approve. 37 Who is [q]there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That [r]both adversity and good proceed?

[pause to do your own reflecting]

Just Being Real

Every end of the year, I come to this place of reflection, regret and pride, and dread and hope. (It’s probably why I’ve been writing so much lately.)

I’m sure I’m not the only one out there with mixed emotions about the New Year. I’m excited for what a new year holds, and there’s something about new year resolutions that stirs a sense of energy and motivation. There are also things I wish that had happened or didn’t happen this past year, along with desires I doubt will happen in the next year.

Application

For the thoughts that are more blue (they will come), I pray you and I resolve to lifting our heads toward God.

Recall and wait (v21). In the times of anguish, remember who God is. Then, you can wait in hope.
Know God is certainly in control of every situation (v37-38).
If God is compassionate, kind, loving, and merciful (v22-23), and if God is what we have (“portion” v24), then we have hope (v21, 24).
God has extended His love and mercy to us that we would have hope in the future. Another verse with “new” in it:
1. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them , and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4

Our God is so good! May the fear of the Lord permeate our lives and change the way we approach life.

---

On a more lighthearted note, here is some random inspiration for New Year resolutions (or my to-do list):

Clean Out Your Camera Roll.
Morning Walks
Up My Outfit Game (I still have clothes from high school… maybe even middle school)
Run 5 Miles (This would be doable except I get shin splints)
Start a New Hobby (Even if it only lasts a month)
Post More Art/Drawings
Finish my Bible Plan (I'm doing this whether I list it here or not)