Lamentations 3:18-33
"His compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22b-23
We have the certainty of the Lord's faithfulness
and love even in the harshest of circumstances. In the Old Testament
book of Lamentations the author is lamenting or mourning the
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. He was also mourning the
capture and exile of God's people of that day. All this came about
because of the sinful choices made by God's people. We also
experience adverse consequences for sinful or wrong choices in our
lives. Even in these difficult circumstances brought on by our own
actions and choices, however, the Lord remains loving and
compassionate to us.
The author of Lamentations said in Lamentations 3:18, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord." The author of Lamentations went on to say in Lamentations 3:20b, "my soul is downcast within me." Have you ever felt like the author of Lamentations? Have you ever felt completely discouraged and without hope? Have you ever felt like everything was crashing down around you? When we begin to feel like the author of Lamentations felt, we are beginning to focus on ourselves instead of on the Lord. The truth of the matter is that there is always the certainty of the Lord's presence even in the worst of circumstances. It is not necessary for our circumstances to change to experience the Lord's joy and peace in our hearts and lives. We just need to take our focus off ourselves and our problems, and focus on the Lord.
This is exactly what the author of Lamentations began to do in Lamentations 3:21-23. He said, "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 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." When we are feeling discouraged by a difficult set of circumstances in our lives, we must "call to mind" the Lord's love for us and the Lord's awesome promises in His Holy Word. The Lord's river of mercy and love never runs dry. People, material possessions and our own resources will often fail us. The Lord, however, will never fail us! We can put our trust in the Lord because of His great love and His faithfulness to us. No matter what is going on in our lives, we can trust the Lord!
In fact, the Lord's love and faithfulness is "new every morning." We experience His love and faithfulness moment by moment and day by day. The Lord is loving and compassionate to His children and always walks beside them with His protecting love and faithfulness. How precious it is to awaken each morning knowing that the Lord will be walking beside us each day, as we face the daily stresses and challenges. "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)
We can put our trust in the Lord in the most difficult of circumstances because of His love and faithfulness. We can also put our trust in the Lord, because He is our portion or inheritance. Lamentations 3:24 says, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him." We, as His children, have the promise of His protecting love in our lives. We also have an eternal inheritance and future in the Lord. Thus we can "wait" on the Lord. Waiting on the Lord means we are resting our entire trust in the Lord for time and eternity. We can trust completely in the Lord's "unfailing love." (Lamentations 3:32b) Praise His name!
