On 4/3/2020:
Have you ever just sat and watched the world wake up. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I like to get up before the sun comes up. I love to watch the sky go from very dark, almost black to dark gray to silver. Then as the sun begins to come through God will paint some of the most glorious paintings you ever did see, I really love it even more when there are a few clouds in the sky. The color plays and dances more gloriously than on a clear day. This morning while watching the world wake up I was reminded of that verse in Lamentations that says His mercies are new every morning. It was just a couple of years ago that I “woke up” to the verses that preceded that verse. The writer of Lamentations is not in a good place. In chapter 3 he points out In verses 1 – 19 that he has seen affliction, he feels forgotten or worse yet punished by God. He feels like his prayers are not being heard and that he is in a desolate place. He feels like people are laughing and they are taunting him. He has lost all hope. But then. I’m not sure what reminded him. Maybe he watched the world wake up. Maybe just time spent in prayer. But his tune changes. And he calls to mind where his Hope is.
“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.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:20-26 ESV
We are in a place right now where we are praying God will not forget us. We want the cure. We long to have normal back. Our lives have been changed and disrupted. We have been told to stay home and we have no other choice but to “wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord”. While we are here. While we wait. Let us not forget where our Hope comes from. And let us cling to His new mercies for this day.
Today:
We are still waiting for life to go completely back to normal or at least more back to normal. We have a vaccine now, although I know there are a lot of people afraid of that. I think the rest of the people are just looking at the lesser of the fears. But I don’t want to live in fear. I want to live in the faithfulness of God and in the promise of His new mercies every morning. There will always be something to fear. Today is an Alert Day with the weather. I have never been a fan of bad weather and yes I have felt fear when it was headed my way or toward my people. But I also want to always remember that nothing can happen to me that doesn’t sift through the fingers of my Father and even if the bad stuff happens He will walk me through it.
This passage in Lamentations is still one of my favorite passages. I think in some way or another we have all gone through seasons where we felt “forgotten” by God. Whether that season was brought on by our own poor choices or decisions or someone else’s. Or just because we live in a fallen world where there are viruses and other illnesses and job losses and evil in the world that somehow touched us. If you have lived long enough you have felt the ebb and flow of “Life is Good” and “Life is Hard”. That’s what this passage reminds me. That even when you are going through the “Life is Hard” part, and the author of Lamentations chapter 3 was going through some hard stuff, if you have been walking with God for any length of time, you can bring to mind His faithfulness and it will bring hope. Friends that is why it is so important to walk with Him all the time especially in the “Life is Good” parts. It helps to bring to mind His faithfulness when you have experienced His faithfulness. My soul has to seek Him daily even on the good days in order to endure the hard days!
Restore 