Just a few months ago, in the article I wrote for the December issue of the Spire, I asked the following question: “If we place all of our hope in “getting through 2020,” what will we do when we stub our proverbial toes in 2021?” Needless to say, our toes are pretty banged up after these first few weeks of the new year. Just as the first week of January had wrapped up, I stumbled across these words, with their mix of levity and insight: “I’ve experienced the seven-day trial of this year and I’d like to unsubscribe.” I think that plenty of people feel similarly; we’ve become a people who are quick to move on, or maybe (more pessimistically) “give up on.” Not to say that there haven’t been boatloads to be concerned about in this year, but when we so quickly move beyond something, we neglect the possibility of reflection. The phrase “hindsight is 20-20” is built on a foundation of reflection. Unless we look back at something, we’ll never grasp it to our fullest capabilities. As troubling as our nation’s circumstances may be, we must reflect, we must continue to chew on what we’ve been through.

I’ve spent some time recently hanging on these verses from Lamentations 3: “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’” (verses 22-24).

God’s compassion for us, his people, is new every single morning. We don’t have to throw away yesterday just so we can start over today. God has already given us a new beginning. When we throw away our bad days we don’t actually benefit in any measurable ways. Instead, we continue to put our hopes in some vague and undefinable “better future.” But God’s mercy for you is new this very morning. There’s no need to look to the future to find goodness, or love, or redemption, or unity, for God is weaving those things in our lives right this very moment.

If you’re anything like me, the act of looking back – even into the darkest nights – only proves to show how God has woven his compassion through my life. What would it have been like if David had never reflected on his adultery, or his resulting son’s death? What would it have been like if Moses (whom I’ll remind all of us was a murderer) had never returned to Egypt after running to Midian? What would it have been like if Peter had given up on his faith after denying his companionship with Jesus? We simply must look into the dark spots of our lives if we are to make any sense of how we move forward.

We, however, don’t do it alone. There is no place that we can go that Christ has not gone before us. Even when we feel as though we are visiting hell on earth, we recall that Jesus himself descended, feeling forsaken by God, before he ascended (Ephesians 4:9). The Lord’s mercy is new for us each and every morning, and we have opportunities to join in the divine call to share that mercy with the world around us. So don’t throw out the difficult, the scary, or the troubling, but reflect with the knowledge that God has called us to accept and take part in his redeeming and resurrecting mercy.

What are the places in your life that need to be revisited? I’d love to hear from you. Be well, friends.

– Ed Sutter