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She almost died. We were in Nashville and our vet called us saying our dog, Coco, was not doing well. If you’re a pet owner, you know that feeling—the weight of sadness. And it’s a helpless feeling, especially when out of town.
This reminds me of 2020. It was supposed to be the roaring 20s, but the roar has been unexpected and unpredicted. A vet call, or virus, can equally jar and shake us.
I don’t spend much time in Lamentations; but when I do, I land in chapter 3. “New” and “every” are hopeful words if seen in proper context:
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
—Lamentations 3:19-26, NIV
We got home from Nashville, picked up our dog, and were handed specific instructions on how to feed her: little by little, morsel by morsel, one piece at a time. We were to give her water, then meal replacement formula, then small pieces of food. One by one. Multiple times a day. Slow. Patience required.
God wants to feed us this way. We often want out of things that corner us or aren’t as comfortable as usual, much like 2020 has been. It’s a challenge to stay in the moment or season and ask: “God, how can your new mercy launch me into a better place?”
God’s mercies are new right now. They’re often unrealized because we speed by that which is not tangible. Mercy is presence, His presence. Presence begs us to linger. Lingering lets us be fed by God, morsel by morsel.
Jeremiah remembered God’s mercy and it reminded him that His portion is more about Who than what. With new perspective, Jeremiah offered wise counsel on waiting. Waiting silently is a great discipline, but here it seems contrary to the rest of the book. Perhaps a literal silence is not in view as much as an attitude of expectant trust. Waiting in the Lord and on the Lord is not passive; it’s active.
Allow yourself to be fed today—piece by piece, truth by truth.
Every day.
Receive it.
New mercy.
Actively waiting.
Expectant trust.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness…
Randy Prosperi
Randy Prosperi was born in Houston and has lived in Tyler with his wife of 16 years and 2 daughters since 2001. He holds a Masters in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Bachelors of Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin. Randy joined the mission of Womenary as a Professor in 2017. 
