There are few things sweeter than watching a baby take her first few steps. No one expects the infant to stay on her feet.

Who doesn’t smile as the baby wobbles on unsteady legs or reaches out her arms when she tips forward? When the baby falls, no one is surprised. Yet, everyone rushes to see if she’s okay.

There’s always a pair of strong, loving arms to pick her up, brush away the tears and set her feet back on the ground again.

And again. And again. God does the same for us.

As the prophet Jeremiah witnesses the fall of Jerusalem into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians in 586-587 BC, he writes the book of Lamentations, capturing the pain, suffering and the hope of a God who lovingly picks up His children, even after they fall again and again.

At one point, Jeremiah fell into despair. Yet, in Lamentations 3:21 he writes when he dared to hope and remember God, his attitude changed. Then, he writes verses 22 and 23 as a beautiful declaration of God’s character and attitude toward us:

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.

While Israel worshipped idols and shamelessly sinned with no remorse, God remained true to His character. Their falls and failures did not diminish God’s faithfulness. Neither do ours.

Like a loving father picks up his child, God picks us up, too.

Yes, we do fall. Our wobbles and stumbles in life happen because we love to follow our own way. Yet, God’s mercies pick us up each day, if we let Him.

Today, dare yourself to hope in God’s faithfulness. If you feel like you’ve fallen, God’s waiting to pick you up.

His mercy is for you today.

*For further reflection, listen to Lamentations 3 today.