O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. — Psalm 136:1
Time and again in my life, I have failed God.
I am certain there are people who could tell you things I have said or done that I never should have. Moments that seemed harmless at the time. Choices I convinced myself I could get away with. And perhaps in the eyes of this world, some of them went unnoticed. But God saw every single one of them. Every one.
And yet here I am. Still standing. Still in His grace. Still able to call Him Father.
That is not something I take lightly. And it is not something I can explain apart from one simple, staggering truth: God is good. Not good in the way the world uses that word. Not good only when we are good in return. Good in a way that is permanent, unchanging, and entirely undeserved on our part.
Psalm 136 is one of the most repetitive chapters in all of Scripture. Twenty-six verses. And at the end of every single one, the same phrase appears without exception. His mercy endureth for ever. It does not matter what the verse describes: creation, deliverance, provision, or battle. The refrain never changes. His mercy endureth for ever.
That repetition is not accidental. It is the point.
God’s mercy is not a limited resource that runs low when we draw from it too often. It does not grow thin with repeated use. It does not expire after too many failures or become unavailable after too many returns. It endures. For ever. Not because we have earned it, but because that is simply who God is.
We live in a world that keeps score. People remember our failures. Our past has a way of following us, defining us in the eyes of others, and sometimes in our own eyes as well. The enemy is particularly skilled at reminding us of what we have done and using it to convince us that we have wandered too far, failed too many times, or used up whatever grace was available to us.
But that is not what Scripture says.
The mercy of God is not surprised by your failures. He knew them before you committed them and loved you anyway. He knows every chapter of your story — including the ones you are most ashamed of — and His goodness remains unchanged through all of it.
That is not a license to continue in sin. It is an invitation to stop hiding from the One who already sees everything and still calls you His own.
Your past does not disqualify you from His grace. Your failures do not exhaust His mercy. No matter how many times you have let Him down, God is still good. And His mercy, toward you specifically, endures for ever.
Come back to Him. As many times as it takes. He will not turn you away.
These devotionals are written to encourage, challenge, and support you in your walk with God. If they are meaningful to you, you can subscribe and receive them by email.
Prefer to listen?
Available anywhere you like to listen to podcasts!
About Another Well Ministries
Another Well Ministries exists to help people slow down, listen deeply, and encounter God in the ordinary places of life. Through devotionals, reflections, and spiritual resources, we seek to create space for faith to be formed with honesty, grace, and hope.
To learn more about the heart of the ministry or explore additional resources, visit anotherwell.org.
