Patient, Gracious, Faithful

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.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:21-24 (NIV)

This passage is beautiful. Verses 22-23 are favorite verses for many Christians. The verses that come before it, though? Not so much!

The word “yet” at the start of verse 21 points back to the previous twenty verses of flat-out awfulness. Jeremiah and all of Israel were “under the rod of God’s wrath . . . driven away to walk in darkness . . . weighed down with chains” (vv. 1-7). All day, every day, God’s hand was against them, and they were unable to get out of it. Jeremiah felt like he was experiencing God as a bear or lion waiting in ambush. And it made him a laughingstock, mocked in songs sung by everyone. He didn’t have peace, didn’t know prosperity, and thought he had no future (vv. 7-20).

Yet.

As Jeremiah reflected on the mess, his mood changed direction. He remembered who God is, who He’d shown Himself to be, and the promises Jeremiah could count on. God’s love for him was great and would always be great (v. 22a). Jeremiah might be broken by life, but God wouldn’t let the story end that way (v. 22b). He hadn’t let Jeremiah’s troubles overcome him and wouldn’t—no matter how many times the first twenty verses were true for Jeremiah’s story. The greater reality was, and is, that God’s faithfulness and mercy are new every morning (v. 23). So Jeremiah could put his hope in the Lord (v. 24).

You can, too. You can think about whatever is behind you in the hope of God’s promise for what is ahead. Call it to mind. Have hope. God’s mercies never end. Great is His faithfulness!

• What characteristics of God in Lamentations 3:21-24 can you call to mind in times of trouble?
• Compare those qualities of God to the chorus of “Hard Fought Hallelujah”—“God, You've been patient. God, You've been gracious, faithful, whatever I'm feeling or facing.” Name as many more characteristics of God as you can call to mind.
• Use the list you created to pray a prayer of thanks to God for His faithfulness, for always acting in perfect alignment with His character found in His Word and in life.