Scripture for the day: Lamentations 3:22-24 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
Thought for the day: Small wonder Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. For years he told the people whatever the Lord put on his heart, regardless of how devastating his words might be. He pleaded with the Lord for some good news to share with those who suffered but nothing came but dire warnings of imminent doom. For years the prophet searched the horizon for some tiny bit of hope in the midst of a people bent on their own destruction. For years he tried desperately to provide that ray of hope, but they would have none of it. 
 Finally the battle was concluded, and thousands had been carried off to captivity in Babylon. Jeremiah was set free and given the opportunity to go wherever he wanted to go. How his heart must have broken as he stood and watched the captives stagger out of the ruins that once were Jerusalem, the holy city of God. Small wonder Jeremiah was inspired to record his feelings in the book we call Lamentations. Can you see him sitting there amongst the ruins of Solomon’s Temple, head bowed in despair, tears streaming from eyes already weary from years of watching the destruction of everything God had provided? 
 Perhaps it was at that moment, as Jeremiah waited for the caravan that would take him to Egypt, that he picked up a scroll and began to write: “How lonely sits the city that was full of people! how like a widow is she, who was great among the nations! The princess among the nations has become a slave!” All hope was gone and the very situation the prophet had predicted for all his adult life had come to be. Still, the reality must have been so very difficult to bear. 
 But wait! There’s more! In the middle of the destruction, with nothing but rubble and dust for company, with no hope on the horizon, I picture Jeremiah looking out over the once great city and suddenly smiling, if ever so slightly. Heaving a great sigh, the man of God bends once again over his scroll, dips his pen in the ink at his side and writes the words we’ve read today. He then goes on to say: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (3:25-26). 
 Are there burdens? Certainly. Do our challenges often seem overwhelming? Without a doubt. Are we tempted to look at everything negative that is happening around us and wonder where the God of salvation is hiding? More often that we’d like to admit. When those times come, as they certainly will, let’s try to remember the admonition of Jeremiah the prophet of God: “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; let us life our hearts and hands to God in heaven” (3:40-41). And again, “You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, ‘Do not fear!’ O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life” (3:57-58). And once again, “You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne from generation to generation” (5:19).
 Let the storm come; let the seas rage; let the discouragements pile as high as the mountains; my God is still in control of the worst of situations. “Lift up your heads for your redemption draws nigh.”
Now go take on your world.  -  Bill