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Scripture for the day: Lamentations 3:22-25 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!”
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.
Thought for the day: The book of Lamentations is all about Jeremiah’s grief over the lost state of Israel and how she was suffering as a result of her sin. We often find it difficult to read through this little book because, quite frankly, it’s real downer to hear someone grieve so hard and so long. But there are some incredibly uplifting bits of scripture in the midst of all that pain and those tiny rays of hope tell me that though Jeremiah was truly and honestly despondent over the state of his people, he held on to a deep-seated trust in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a faith that convinced him the Lord would not abandon forever his people. But that’s really not where I wanted to end up this Good Friday morning. What I really wanted us to look at (and it goes very well with the scriptures we’ve just read) is Psalm 22 and following.
Psalm 22:1 contains the words Jesus quoted from the cross as he lifted his head toward heaven. He realized that, for just the split second when all the sin of the world was on his shoulders, the Father had turned away, not from the Son but from the sin. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” was the cry from the cross. How devastating that moment must have been for Jesus as he once again identified with the plight of mankind.
You see, we too have expressed that same cry of anguish when the weight of the world has come crashing down on our own shoulders. When some tragedy has invaded our lives or we’ve lost someone near and dear to us, this same cry has escaped our own lips and we ask the same questions. If God is a God of love, why doesn’t he answer me? If God is really there, why don’t I sense his presence? We listen intently and so often the only answer we seem to get is: “Trust Me.” “Lean on Me.” “Remember the promises I’ve given you.”
How tragic life is when we feel abandoned. But our faith, like that of David the Psalmist, must move us from Psalm 22 to Psalm 23. In the first verse of that familiar Psalm, David said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” I don’t know what David was facing when he wrote the 22nd Psalm, but I’m convinced the faith he carried through the circumstances of his life brought him to the place where he could look beyond tragedy and be reminded that the Lord had promised to shepherd his people, individually and as a nation. He had the promise of protection: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
He had the promise of provision: “My cup runs over.”
He had the promise of fellowship: “He leads me beside still waters.”
He had the promise of comfort: “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
When God seems far away, we need to remind ourselves that it only seems that way. God has not moved; His love has not waned, and He has provided countless examples of the wisdom of placing our trust in Him – even though we may be walking through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
Now wonder David could move on to Psalm 24:1 – “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to Him.” We don’t always see clearly what is happening around us but God is in control. We aren’t always able to understand what God is up to but His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways. He is sovereign regardless of who or what tries to usurp that power. David said elsewhere: “As for God, his ways are perfect.” He will sustain all who trust and lean on him. He will replace anxiety with peace when we learn to give him control of the situation.
My friend, it may seem like Friday in your life right now; the storm clouds may be gathering and you may feel there’s no place to hide. But stand firm in your faith - Sunday’s coming!
Now go take on your world. - Bill