I love the way God designed life in cycles and seasons—all the way down to 24-hour days. The effect is continuous renewal! Even His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
October invites us to glean from nature’s own willingness to shed one season to make way for the next. Our letting go of each yesterday is part of God’s design for continuous renewal!
These lyrics to one of my favorite hymns are a beautiful description of God’s grace for each new day:
“Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.”
“Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counsellor and Pow’r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,
This the pledge to me He made.”
“Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation,
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till with Christ the Lord I stand.”
~ written in 1865 by Lina Sandell
A glory-filled harvest moon whispers goodnight to October’s first day—a day filled with deep sunshine, crisp air, and a tapestry of painted leaves dancing on the wind…
