There is so much in today's reading that struck me. It's hard to narrow it down. So I won't. ;)
Of course I noticed the beginning of our Lamentations reading. It reminds me of those times in my life where I felt beat up on every side. Where I just couldn't get ahead. Discouraged. Depressed. The prophet is anguished within his soul. His torture is palpable. We've all been there.
And then he remembers:
Yet this I call to mindI love the line because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed. Sometimes in the midst of great trial we feel like we are going to die. Sometimes we wonder if it might not be better to die. I've wondered that. But the Lord wants more for us than just the easy way out. He wants us to fight and wrestle with life. As ugly and as unfair as that seems, we grow that way. I think that's why the prophet said "It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young." There are many reasons for going through hardship and I have not the mind of God, but we can all look back on those hard times and know that we were changed for the better. Was it fun? No way. Was it necessary? Yes. He goes on with comfort:
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.
31 For no one is cast offWhat kind of a man was Jeremiah to be able to say such words of assurance in the midst of such torment? Oh that we can have that kind of assurance deep in ourselves. I guess that's why we have The Word.
by the Lord forever.
32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
33 For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
I love the lists that are often at the end of the epistles. It's like the writer is saying 'don't forget these things!' I wonder if the writer remembers these things on his bed at night? It seems like the lists I often make throughout the day of things I need to get done.
The one that really strikes me is the one about money. Things are tight right now as I am sure they are for a lot of people. But wow, does that ever assure me. "Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Um, ok, I'll trust. It's difficult sometimes when we see all the bills there and there is no money to balance it out. But, He will not leave us, or forsake us. I guess we just have to trust. Again, easier said than done. But that's why I like to look at our walk like training. We can do well, but we can always strive to do better.
Tomorrow's passage: 2 Chronicles 36, Daniel 1-2, Titus 1
3 comments:
I think that makes those verses about God's goodness stand out so much is that they stand against a backdrop of infathomable awfulness. I mean, the things described in chapter 4 are absolutely horrifying! So for Jeremiah to still be able to say those things, displays the incredible depth of his faith and love for God. Oh, to have a relationship like that!
I thought too that Hebrews 13 reads like a list! "And quick, before I'm done, a few last important things to remember..."
I love that verse too "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed".
And in Hebrews "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." A few years ago Todd and Angie Smith (he sings with the Christian group Selah) found out that their unborn daughter would not be born alive. And her first response was "I think that my Jesus is the same as He was before I walked into this room". Our circumstances don't change our God.
http://angiesmithonline.com/2008/01/the-beginning-of-the-story/
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