Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually
remembers it and is bowed down within me.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end; they are new
every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The
LORD is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I
will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:19-24)
This is one of the most beautiful passages
in the Old Testament, yet it’s
written from a place of hurt and
with a real sense of longing
for hope. Lamentations is
a book of laments, and
this particular lament
expresses pain and
suffering and confusion
as the people of God
are experiencing the
effects of sin. Yet in
their “affliction and
their wanderings,” in
the pain and bitterness,
the “wormwood and
the gall,” as their souls are
“bowed down” within them,
they call something to mind
that gives them hope. And what
is that hope?
They hope in the reality that the steadfast love
of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never, ever
come to an end. They are new every morning, and
the faithfulness of the Lord is great. We too need to
be reminded of these truths, especially when we
go through affliction or a season when our souls
are bowed down within us. We should be able to
pray with the psalmist,
“As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your
mercy from me; your steadfast love and your
faithfulness will ever preserve me!” (Psalm 40:11)
If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, then
be encouraged: God’s mercies are new for you
every morning. His steadfast love for you never
ceases. He is faithful to you, Christian. Even in the
midst of tragedy, you have hope in Jesus.
As we think about advent, consider where we
would be without the hope of Jesus, without the
faithfulness of God, without the new mercies and
steadfast love of the Lord. We would indeed be
hopeless. But God is faithful, and Christ has paid
the price for our sin and reconciled us to
God, opening up for us a fountain
of new mercies for each new
day. We are never without
hope.
PRAYING IN LIGHT OF
TODAY’S PASSAGE
Thank God for His
ceaseless love and
mercy, and ask Him
to sustain your hope
in the midst of both
tragedy and triumph.