New Mercies for a New Year

When your heart is broken, the way the world celebrates a “new year” can feel cruel. Everyone talks about fresh starts and clean slates, while you’re simply trying to survive another 365 days carrying the weight of loss.

That’s why Lamentations 3:22–23 is such a lifeline. Jeremiah wrote these words in the middle of devastation—not after everything was fixed. And that’s the point: God’s new mercies don’t erase what happened. They don’t rush your healing or demand excitement for the future.

Instead, God meets you with enough mercy for today—strength for one more step, peace for one more moment, breath for one more morning. You don’t need the grace for the whole year tonight. You just need the mercy God has waiting for you when you wake.

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“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.” — Lamentations 3:22–23

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YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
This new year doesn’t feel new to me. I’m still carrying pain from what I’ve lost, and I don’t feel ready for fresh starts or big plans. But tonight, I’m asking You to help me trust in Your new mercies. My circumstances may not have changed, but You are faithful.

Help me wake up tomorrow and receive just enough mercy for that day. I don’t need strength for all of 2026—I just need what You have for me tomorrow. Thank You that Your faithfulness doesn’t depend on my feelings, my strength, or my ability to move forward. Thank You that even when I can’t see the purpose in my pain, You still have plans for me.

Help me take one more day, one more step, trusting that Your mercies will meet me when I wake.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

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THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. One Mercy from Today
   Look back over the last 24 hours and name one mercy God gave you—strength to get through the day, comfort at the right moment, a text from a friend, or simply the ability to keep going. That mercy was personal and intentional.

2. Tomorrow Is Not Today
   You don’t have to solve the whole year tonight. You don’t have to plan for every hard date or unknown moment. Trust that when tomorrow comes, God’s mercies will be waiting and sufficient.

3. His Faithfulness Holds You
   Remember a time God carried you when you couldn’t feel Him. You may not have had answers, but you had endurance. That same faithfulness will hold you through this year—one day at a time.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Life Audio. Thank you for tuning in to your Nightly Prayer,
a podcast designed to help you rest and connect with
your father in heaven as the day ends. God is
ready to meet you in this moment of peace. As
you settle into sleep. After this short word from our sponsor,

(00:25):
we'll encounter tonight's devotional New Mercies for a New Year,
written by Rachel Wojo and read by your host, Brooke McLoughlin.

(00:45):
Tonight's scripture 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 Lamentations three twenty two
through twenty three. Something to ponder when your heart is broken.

(01:07):
Sometimes the way the world celebrates feels cruel. It can
seem like everyone is talking about the new year or
the new calendar with fresh possibilities. Everyone around you seems
excited about resolutions and clean slates, while you're wondering how
you'll survive another three hundred and sixty five days carrying

(01:28):
the weight. I know that feeling, friend, I really do.
January second, twenty twenty marked one year since my daughter
Taylor graduated to heaven after years of battling a progressive
neurological condition. That first January after losing her was one
of the hardest months of my life. I remember staring

(01:50):
at the new calendar on my kitchen wall, seeing all
those empty squares stretching ahead, and feeling physically sick. How
could anything new when my dear daughter was still gone?
The new year Knew You messages felt like mockery. I
didn't want to knew me. I wanted my daughter back.

(02:11):
I wanted the old normal, the old calendar that still
had her in it. Social media was full of people
posting their goals and fresh starts. Then I could barely
get through breakfast without crying. But the hardest words I
had to speak to my own heart came in quiet
moments when I was alone with God. I did not

(02:34):
die when my daughter died. God has a plan for me.
Those words felt like betrayal at first, like I was
somehow leaving Taylor behind by continuing to live. How could
I move forward when she couldn't. Yet, slowly, painfully I

(02:54):
began to understand what lamentations three twenty two through twenty
three really means. Jeremiah wrote those verses in the middle
of tremendous suffering. After watching Jerusalem fall, he stared at
loss and devastation that destroyed the hearts of many. But
it was from that place of deep pain that he

(03:16):
wrote about God's mercies being new every morning. New mercies
don't erase what happened. They don't minimize your loss or
diminish your pain. That first year, my new mercy wasn't
excitement about the future. It was the simple truth that
Taylor was no longer suffering. She was whole, healed, and

(03:41):
the home with Jesus. That became the mercy I could
hold on too when I couldn't hold her anymore. God's
new mercies aren't about feeling better or moving on or
having it all together. They're about having enough strength to
face one more day. They're about finding one moment of

(04:01):
peace amid chaos. They're about discovering that though you didn't
die when your world fell apart, God still has plans
for you. As long as you're breathing, life has meaning.
I don't know how you're entering this new year. Maybe
in the last year you lost a person, a marriage,

(04:23):
a job, a dream, or your health. Maybe you feel
like everyone expects you to be excited about fresh starts
when you're just trying to breathe. Maybe you're tired of
pretending you're okay when you're not. I've journeyed six years
down the road of new mercies, and I believe that

(04:43):
God's mercies being new every morning doesn't mean every morning
feels new. Some mornings still feel heavy. Some days the
grief or disappointment or fear is just as raw as
it was a year ago. But God's fai faithfulness is
that he gives the new mercies for that particular pain

(05:04):
every single day. He is faithful. You don't have to
be excited about this new year. You don't have to
have it all figured out. You don't have to set
goals or make resolutions or pretend you're starting fresh when
you're still healing. All you need to do is wake
up tomorrow and receive the mercy God has waiting for

(05:25):
you for that day. I'm so thankful for a new
day in the new year. Pray with me your nightly prayer,
Heavenly Father. This new year doesn't feel new to me.
I'm still carrying the pain of the last year. I
don't feel excited about fresh starts or new beginnings because

(05:49):
the disappointments and losses are still lingering. But tonight I'm
asking you to help me believe in your new mercies.
My circumstances have an changed, but you are faithful. Help
me wake up tomorrow and receive just enough mercy for
that day. I don't need strength for all of twenty

(06:09):
twenty six. I just need what you have for me today.
Thank you that your faithfulness doesn't depend on my feelings,
my strength, or my ability to move forward. Thank you
that even when I can't see the purpose in my pain,
you have plans for me. Help me take one more day,

(06:29):
one more step, trusting that your mercies will be there
when I wake In Jesus' name, Amen. Three things to
meditate upon. Number One one mercy from today. Think back
over this day and identify one mercy God gave you.
Maybe it was a moment when you didn't fall apart

(06:52):
like you thought you would, a friend who texted it
just the right time, or simply the strength to get
through another day. That mercy was intentional, personal and just
for you. Two. Tomorrow is not today. You don't have
to figure out the whole year tonight. You don't have

(07:13):
to know how you'll handle the hard dates coming up,
or how you'll navigate all the challenges ahead. All you
need is to trust that tomorrow morning, God's mercies will
be sufficient and waiting for you. And number three, his
faithfulness holds you. Remember a time when God proved faithful

(07:33):
even when you couldn't feel it, maybe when you didn't
think you could survive, but you did. His faithfulness then
is the same faithfulness that will carry you through this
new year, one day at a time. Tonight, as you
fall asleep, remember this. God's new mercies aren't about erasing

(07:54):
your past or denying your pain. They're about giving you
exactly what you need need to face tomorrow and the
next day and the day after that. His faithfulness never fails.
Reflect on Tonight's prayer and share how God met you there.
Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.

(08:20):
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