04/17/2009

Lamentations 3:19-27 (New Living Translation)

19 The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.[a] 20 I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. 21 Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends![b] His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. 27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline:

I love this Scripture! Jeremiah talks in this Chapter about the problems and temptations that he had endured. This Scripture can give hope to many of us. The prophet here tells us that we overcome all of the stresses and temptations of today. When you were going through a bad situation, how many times have you thought that this was the worse situation ever?!! Then after you think about it, you see how God really showed his mercy and it wasn't as bad as you thought. That has happened to me many times! At one time I was going through some situations with my oldest son, I thought it was the most horrible time but God actually showed His mercy and His grace and things worked out for the best. What my son and I went through was very hard but God showed up. It actually turned around for the good! Praise God!! My son still has a ways to go but I truly believe that God is working in his life and he will give his life to Jesus.

I love this Book in the Bible because Jeremiah tells of his personal distress and you can see his heart. He also shows how he was affected by Israel afflictions. It affected him personally because he loved God and it broke his heart when Israel was not being obedient to God. He was a prophet and told the people what would happen if they disobeyed; but they just rejected him. In this Chapter, Jeremiah also tells of God's kindness and mercy. He talks about hope, faith and love and waiting on the Lord. God remembers His people and Jeremiah reminds us about this through these Scriptures. I loved that he revived his hope, encouraged not only himself but he saw that it would also encourage us. A word that seems to pop up a lot in the Bible is patience. Jeremiah tells us to quietly and patiently bear whatever problems come upon us. Just remember that it is always good to trust God even when bad things happen to us. Hope is very important. I encourage you to read the Word because it not only gives strength but also hope.