by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Embracing God’s Tender Mercies in the Routines of Life

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

It’s 4:30 am and my body tells me it’s time to get up. After my morning weigh in, I walk downstairs, make coffee, and feed the animals. I then walk back upstairs and begin my morning devotions, waiting for the first cup of coffee to kick in. Then it’s back downstairs to walk the dog, eat breakfast, do my physical therapy, and get ready for work.

When I go to bed that night, I know that I will face the same routine when my body once again tells me to get up in the morning.

My life is not like the excitement of Star Wars or the craziness of an episode of Brooklyn 99. It’s not even like Napoleon Dynamite. Groundhog Day would be a better description of my life. One day runs into another day. Each day looks very much like the one before it.

Stuck.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t do the same thing everyday. I talk with different people. I do different tasks. I might even take a different way to work. Being stuck is probably more about my choices than anything else.

Your compassion is great, O LORD. Revive me, as you typically do!
Psalm 119:156 New English Translation

God’s tender mercy is greater than the routines in which we feel stuck. From the first cup of coffee to the last drink of water, God’s tender mercy covers us. The compassion of God, displayed on a cross, makes each day new and exciting even if we feel stuck.

The priest who wrote Psalm 119 was intimate with God’s mercy, compassion, and love. His life was stuck in a routine of people who afflicted him, yet he knew that it was God who revived him, who cared for him, and who would not let go of him.

Tomorrow might look much like today, however, may you find the reviving power of life that comes from God’s great compassion. You don’t have to feel stuck when you know it’s God who revives you.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado