Lamentations 3:19-33 English Standard Version
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[b]
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bear
the yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone in silence
when it is laid on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
and let him be filled with insults.
31 For the Lord will not
cast off forever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not afflict from his heart
or grieve the children of men.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
A Prayer for Steadfast Patience for the Good God Promises
Lamentations 3:22-27 Easy-to-Read Version
22 We are still alive because
the Lord’s faithful love never ends.
23 Every morning he shows it in new ways!
You are so very true and loyal!
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my God,
and I trust him.”[a]
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him.
He is good to those who look for him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for the Lord to save them.
27 It is good for a man to wear his yoke
from the time he is young.
How is it with your soul, today?
I have to confess that it’s been a really hard year for me and my wife.
One of the hardest we can remember actually.
And right now, our inner sense is that the hope-light within us seems to be dimming a little more each day.
We know God is good.
We know He has us both etched in the palm of his righteous hands. But, as the disappointment and difficulties linger longer and longer, our patience thins.
How do we hold on?
How do we swell with hope and joy, peace and love when our shared hurts seems to overpower all the encouragement we desperately try to cling to?
I don’t know about you, but as a whole, humanity is really good at wearing an “all is well” smile.”
I mean, who wants to be hanging around with a perpetual frowner anyway? But on the inside, regardless of how justified we seem to feel defeated and deflated, the long depressing struggles of life over these last 18 months can eat us alive.
Do any of you readers feel any of this as we enter both Advent and Christmas?
Getting through Thanksgiving was a tough ride. Do you know God is good and still trust he has good in store for you, but right now, through a tough season or situation, you’re really struggling to rest in patience for his promises to prevail?
For specks of the promised goodness and peace you long for.
For relief from the struggle and deep breaths of refreshment to renew your sorrowful soul?
I know.
My Wife knows.
My Wife and Me echo this longing too. We all want the good God has promised.
And we all wish we could be more patient.
So what do we do? I believe we need to keep clinging… to God.
Patience is extremely difficult for us too, but we must keep clinging.
I recently placed a bookmark in my Bible, in Lamentations 3, highlighting verses 24 and 25 to remind us both that the Lord is our portion.
We all need to remember this.
Holding on to reassurance that he is and will provide our exact needs each day.
True, maybe not all of our wants—though some may come our way—but God provides the perfect portions of “perfect peace” we all need now, and he will assuredly provide every necessary portion for all our tomorrows. Those days and places ahead that deep down we question will hold any speck of light at all.
Therefore, we are to wait for him. Because we know—and his trustworthy word says so— that God’s portion is now and then.
This is the surest hope we can cling to. He is the surest hope we can cling to.
A sure and certain hope that will fortify our patience as we hold tight to it.
Proverbs 27:17 Complete Jewish Bible
17 Just as iron sharpens iron,
a person sharpens the character of his friend.
And we keep seeking him.
Because these words of truth also remind us the Lord is good to those who do.
And yes, we will find goodness even today as we seek him, day to day cling to him, and moment by precious moment we still keep placing our hope in him.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 16 English Standard Version
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A Miktam[a] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.[b]
4 The sorrows of those who run after[c] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.[d]
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being[e] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.[f]
11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 