Lamentations 1 & 3
Key Verse: Lamentations 3:22, 23
God heard
the cries of his people.
Overwhelmed
by sorrow, uprooted from their homeland, the Israelites had little hope for the
future. They had disobeyed God. Now they were enduring God’s punishment for
their sins.
But in the
midst of their affliction, God came. Despite their stubbornness, God did not
abandon them. God never stopped loving them. In fact, just when they needed it
the most, God gave them the precious gift of hope. This gift was “made flesh”
in a man, the prophet Jeremiah.
Jeremiah
saw beyond the present suffering; he saw a future full of the goodness of God.
The prophet saw that hope is greater than grief, that joy is greater than
sorrow.
Few greater
visions of God are recorded in Holy Scripture than this one from the pen of the
weeping prophet:
“It
is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail
not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my
portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in
him.” (3:22-24)
It
was this vision that birthed the greatly beloved hymn, “Great is Thy
Faithfulness.” This soul-stirring song often brings me to my knees in worship,
especially the words, “All I have needed, Thy Hand hath provided.” I want to
cry out for all to hear, “Yes, Lord, Yes! Glory!”
What a
great truth for us to embrace and live by: God’s mercies are new every morning!
No matter what pain or misfortune we have had to endure in the night, God’s
mercies are as sure as the morning light, and ours for the asking.
We may
choose either the word “new” or “fresh” to describe his mercies. Both are
beautiful words, though I prefer “fresh.”
Morning suggests breakfast. When we
rise from a night’s rest, we feel fresh; we have fresh energy. The aroma of
fresh coffee makes us glad to be alive.
Fresh bread smells so good and
tastes delicious. Think of our disappointment if all we had for breakfast was
day-old coffee and stale bread! No so God’s mercies; they are fresh every
morning!
Stanley
Jones was being shown to his room at a retreat center. His hostess was a
cheerful Roman Catholic nun who provided him with towels and soap. Politely she
asked if there was anything else he needed.
With a
twinkle in his eye the famous evangelist replied, “More grace.”
Smiling, the alert and witty nun responded: “Help yourself,
Brother Stanley, it’s all around you!”
She was
right because God is faithful and He keeps His promises. Our troubles may weigh
us down, but we need not stay down. Whenever we will, we can reach out and help
ourselves to the mercies of God.
His eye is
indeed “upon the sparrow,” and upon me, and you, and all his children. He cares
about our sorrows. He hurts when we hurt. And every new morning can be a new
beginning because His compassion never fails! +++