Lamentations 3:21-23 NIV

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

My weary soul needed these words of refreshment this morning. They are some of my favorite verses in Scripture.

First is that it is in Lamentations - to lament means to cry out in grief from suffering. Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. It was in the midst of weeping that he wrote these words. He and his people were being dragged off into captivity. Their whole world was in turmoil. Uncertainty was abounding. Not much has changed in 2500 years.

Secondly, it is the middle verses of Lamentations. Perhaps that is symbolic. I don’t need to deny the cause for weeping and anxiety but In the middle of all the suffering and pain in life, I can remember that God's love and compassion and faithfulness for me are great. They are renewed every day. They never run out. If it were not for his faithfulness, I would already have been consumed.

And they are new every day. No day old faithfulness here. I can let go of all that came and went yesterday and even more, I don't need to worry about tomorrow. I don’t need to hoard his faithfulness today in case he doesn’t show up tomorrow. Our God is outside of time. Tomorrow for him is the same as today. He knows what is coming and is completely prepared and sufficient to meet my every need both today and tomorrow. It reminds me of the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread, not our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread. I believe it is a call to rely on Him day by day. One day at a time. Not just a cliché but learning to rest in His faithfulness, compassion, and love just for today. And then to do it again tomorrow.

One more thing that encouraged me. “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope”. The calling to mind is an intentional act. Choosing to remember and reflect on the compassion and faithfulness of God. How quickly I forget. I will call to mind the goodness of God today. That in the middle of all the chaos and fear, he is stable and I can depend on Him. And it is because of this that I have hope.