Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV
The prophet Jeremiah turns to God, having before his eyes the desolation and destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian army, and asks Him to pay attention to his plight, to turn his gaze lest he forget or abandon the people. He does so by inviting them to remember. It is touching to see Jeremiah, though personally not guilty, identifying with the people. The misfortunes that he had not ceased to announce, and which the people had been unwilling to believe, have now come. While doing this his soul remembers that God does not sleep or slumber, and is certain of His nearness. God does not leave us or forsake us, and when we remember this we return to hope, we breathe a sigh of relief. When hope seems to fail we are called to look at the glass half full: it is a grace from the LORD that we have not been entirely destroyed. Yes, the city is destroyed, but the prophet is alive. If things are not going as we would like, if we are alive it means that, through us or with us, God can accomplish something to change the situation. Then it is a grace that we are alive, that we are part of the divine plan, that we are part of the remnant of Israel.
Compassion is not a feeling, but it is a response to the cry of humanity, which is realized by a real presence that is renewed daily as we awaken. His great faithfulness allows that we are not psychologically annihilated by what is happening around us. Just when storms rage over our lives, we must remind ourselves that God's faithfulness is great. Jeremiah is in the depths of distress, struggling to hope. However, when we become aware that we are part of God's plan and he is our part in eternity, we will not stop hoping in him, for he is “good with those who hope in him, with the soul that seeks him” (v. 25). Isaiah announces that “those who hope in the LORD gain new strength, rise up with wings like eagles, run without tiring and walk without fatigue” (40:31) above the ruins that surround us, of a society that has less and less hope and will to live. We are witnessing an increasing number of suicides, violence of all kinds, madness now raging regardless of age. We, on the other hand, with Jeremiah want to continue to hope in Him. For what are you pleading for His intervention, for what are you unceasingly praying that God will remember? Whatever it is, do not ignore that God is faithful, and it is because of His faithfulness that compassions are renewed.
Do not fall prey to despair; if you really cannot declare this biblical truth, good thing is to wait in silence (v. 26). Stop murmuring and complaining. Those who remain silent are firmly hoping in the Lord; they are telling their souls not to despair, for God has never forsaken them. David will also make the same prayer, “Remember, O LORD, your compassions and your mercies, for they are from everlasting” (Psalm 25:6). God has compassion and mercy on us not because of who we are, but because he is Father of compassions, wide in mercy. Let us trust what Scripture declares. God is the same throughout time, why should He behave differently with you of all people? God does not deny His being, He will never forget you, and when it seems to you that He is doing so, He waits in silence, He stands firm in your trust. I wish you can project yourself into the New Year with this truth, that God has remembered you and you can rest assured, because He is taking care of you, He knows what to do. Those who hope in God will not be disappointed in the least. Let us confidently turn our gaze to Him, availing ourselves also of Job's words, “I acknowledge that you can do all things, and that no design of yours can be hindered”(42:2). Let our commitment be to move within His designs, to place our will in His, letting His compassions daily cover us.
Weekly Bible Reading Plan #02
January 06, Genesis 16-17; Matthew 5:27-48
January 07, Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18
January 08, Genesis 20-22; Matthew 6:19-34
January 09, Genesis 23-24; Matthew 7
January 10, Genesis 25-26; Matthew 8:1-17
January 11, Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34
January 12, Genesis 29-30; Matthew 9:1-17
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