Lamentations 3:22–23
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!”
There used to be a song often sung with lyrics taken from this Old Testament passage—Lamentations 3:22-23. In it, we find God’s promise that He will bless us with new blessings that He provides every day. In the past, we understood this as material blessings that God would give. Because of this, we encouraged people not to be afraid or worried, for His new blessings would be given to them daily.
But have we ever thought about Christians living in times of persecution, or those living in deep poverty—people who do not see “new blessings” every day? How does this verse apply to their lives? If we are honest, it means our understanding of this verse has been mistaken.
This verse is found in the Old Testament, where the focus was indeed on material blessings—when the people obeyed, God gave them victory over their enemies, fruitful harvests, and outward prosperity. But this cannot be applied directly to New Testament believers. The problem is that many Christians do not want to shift their heart’s orientation, either because they do not know or because old patterns of thinking have long misled them.
For the New Testament believers, God’s blessings are spiritual in nature. When we wake up in the morning, we should say, “Lord, thank You for the spiritual pearls You have prepared for me. Help me to grasp them.” And every day, it is impossible for God not to give spiritual blessings.
God is a Person who has divine designs. The challenge is how He shapes each individual to conform to His design. Each of us has a different personality, and this is the richness of the Kingdom of God. We genuinely are placed on this earth in unique ways—no two people are the same. God designed us so that none of us should perish.
In the Old Testament, this project could not yet take place because redemption in Jesus Christ had not yet happened. Through the redemption, we are repurchased and allowed to become huios (legitimate children). Indeed, all humans are called God’s children, but not all are legitimate (they are nothos). Before the cross, all humans stood in the status of nothos, with no open possibility to become huios.
Redemption transfers our position from nothos to huios. This transfer is exceedingly costly. There is no other way except through the cross of Christ. Therefore, we must honor and esteem the work of the cross. And once God has moved us, we should not assume that we are automatically “saved” just like that.
What does it mean to be saved? Many people are not truly saved; they are merely at the first step of the journey toward salvation. The cross transfers us from nothos to huios, but it does not automatically change us. Within the 70–80 years of life that God grants us, He is shaping and working on us so that we are transformed according to His will. This process is not easy. If it were easy, Jesus would not have said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door,” and “Many are called, but few are chosen.”
Ironically, when people assume that salvation is easy and entering heaven is automatic, the result is that their orientation shifts toward material blessings. They believe that after becoming God’s children, we are guaranteed special care and protection. Although not stated outright, the impression given is that God’s blessings will be easier to obtain, and prayers will be answered more quickly because we pray in Jesus’ name.
As a result, the focus that should be directed toward God’s shaping of our inner being gets displaced. Days go by without genuine spiritual growth. Many remain stuck in the pursuit of material needs.
And even worse, once we are infused with the poison of the world, our standards change: we must have a particular kind of car, wear clothes of a certain price, and appear according to the world’s measurements. People begin to chase these things. Yet what we should be striving to see is truth—God’s standard of holiness—so that our own standard of holiness is continually elevated.
Regarding material matters: as long as we have food, drink, and clothing, that is enough. But God’s holiness—His perfection—is what we must absolutely wrestle with. Material needs are relative; holiness is absolute.