GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS--THOUGHTS FROM LAMENTATIONS 3

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS—THOUGHTS FROM LAMENTATIONS 3

“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, He has turned His hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call out or cry for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has barred my way with blocks of stone; He has made my paths crooked. Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, He dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help. He drew His bow and made me the target for His arrows. He pierced my heart with arrows from His quiver. I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long. He has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall. He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 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.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love, for He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. To crush underfoot all prisoners in the land, to deny a man his rights before the Most High, to deprive a man of justice—would not the Lord see such things? Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” (The Lamentations Of Jeremiah, Chapter 3:1-40)

This remarkable passage records one of the darkest periods in the history of the Jewish nation, when the Jews had forsaken God, their rulers had perverted justice, and God sent Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Jerusalem and take Judah captive to Babylon. Jeremiah, who was God’s prophet in Jerusalem before, during and after the final invasion by Nebuchadnezzar and who witnessed some of the most horrific suffering by his people as a punishment for their sins, was placed there by God to warn the Jews, participate in their suffering and faithfully record the consequences of their sin for posterity. Lamentations is an extreme example of the lengths to which God goes in pursuing His chosen people. He remains faithful to them in their punishment until the bitter end, and even then cares for those in Babylon and those who remain behind in the land surrounding the ruins of Jerusalem. In the midst of lament there is hope and reassurance that our God is faithful! Even when His chosen people had been unfaithful to Him and deserved His punishment, God promised them that there would come a day when He would bring them back and restore them in Jerusalem. A much different example from the Book of Job shows God’s Omniscience and provision before, during and after a time of testing. In this case, God proves to Job and his friends that He is faithful in preserving Job’s life and restoring him to health and prosperity. This example of testing a faithful man for the purpose of increasing his faith and relationship with his Heavenly Father shows another extreme example of God’s faithfulness in the further improvement of an exemplary man. Although most of us never experience anything like the extreme tests of Jeremiah and Job, we still endure those difficult and particular tests which address areas of our lives which need improvement. “For I know the plans I have for you—plans to prosper you and do you good.” God wants us to realize that if He has remained faithful in the most extreme cases in history, that He will also remain faithful to us. We who are but dust have had the breath of life breathed into us by a God Who Is Faithful! Our lives are a gift of creation from a loving and Faithful God Who understands our sorrows and is acquainted with our grief. Maybe it has been awhile since you have talked with God. Perhaps you feel that He is no longer listening to you and you think that God has abandoned you. God asked Abraham and Sarah a rhetorical question, “Is anything too hard for God?” to which the answer is a resounding NO! Paul tells us, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) Jeremiah and Job both questioned where God was in their circumstances and doubted that God was listening to their cries for help, and yet God was patient with their complaints and lack of trust and granted them eternal life with Him. God will reward us for our trust and faithfulness towards Him and has provided us with His Holy Spirit, Who will provide the strength and endurance that is needed for each day until we are reunited with Him in heaven. Life is difficult, and designed to be just as hard as necessary to bring us to the end of ourselves and to the realization of our need for a Savior. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) These familiar words provide assurance to us in our darkest hours that our God is faithful and committed to our salvation, if we will only trust and follow Him.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts His voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1-7)

May God grant you the patient endurance which is needed as you confront your daily obstacles and may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Mark Overt Skilbred