As the excitement of Christmas fades and the New Year dawns, our attention is turned toward the open chapter before us. We plan, set goals, and dream about the potential “better” of the months to come. Yet, despite our hopes and good intentions the truth is we have no idea what lies ahead. Perhaps this year will be replete with the fulfillment of desires and great accomplishments; a year marked with the creation of joyful memories. However, it’s also possible this year will bring challenges we never imagined- times of disappointment, sorrow, and loss. Most likely, we will experience a mixture of both blessing and suffering in the coming year.
In light of this reality, what then should be our prayer? From where can we derive comfort and satisfaction, regardless of the mixture we are given?
Psalm 90, a prayer of Moses, instructs us how to pray and reveals the means by which we are satisfied. He begins by reminding us that the Lord has been our dwelling place throughout all generations- that He has been God from everlasting to everlasting. We are then reminded of the Lord’s sovereignty, that He is the giver of life and of wrath; and of His love, that He is the seer of our sin, yet is the one who has compassion on His servants. With this background, Moses unveils in verse 14 what his heart- and ours- truly needs in all of life’s circumstances. His prayer was this: “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”
It was this same steadfast love of the Lord that was the source of the prophet Jeremiah’s hope in the midst of a dismal reality. With the sight of a destroyed Jerusalem all around him he wrote: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:21-23). Recalling the past faithfulness, sovereignty, and grace of God, we, like Moses and Jeremiah, can place our confidence and hope in the One who is worthy of our trust.
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love. May that be our prayer this year regardless of the season, whether in blessing or in suffering. For we know that when we cry out- when we humbly ask for such a satisfaction- we will be filled. And when doubts arise concerning this promise, we can turn our eyes to the very next psalm in which Moses recorded these words of the Lord: “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation” (Psalm 91:15-16). Being satisfied with His love we can rejoice and be glad all of our days.
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