But This I Call to Mind

It's not every day that you find yourself in the book of Lamentations. Psalms is a definite favorite. I love the gospel of John. One of my Old Testament favorites is the less commonly studied book of Nehemiah. But Lamentations? I doubt very many of you claim Lamentations as one of your favorite go-to books. If we were to examine our Bibles, how many fingerprints would we find on the pages of Lamentations?  

Well, you sure would find my fresh fingerprints there this week. I have found there a measure of comfort and consolation that has poured over into my lap, and I can't wait to share it with you from Lamentations 3:17-26.

My soul is bereft of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness is;

So I say, "My endurance has perished;

So has my hope from the Lord."

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."

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. 

I don't claim to be in a pit of despair as deep as the writer of this poetry, but I do know that some of you might be. I haven't forgotten what happiness is, but some of you have or are very close to it. I haven't lost endurance or hope in the Lord, but I am not going to deny that some of you who are reading this right now have. I am not in a place where all I can remember is my affliction and wandering, but I feel the burden in my heart that some of you are in that very place. 

Others of you may be more like me at this moment in my life. Your life is not wormwood and gall, but it's not always peaches and roses either. You haven't lost all hope, but you're not always the best at hanging onto it either. Life is good but it's also hard, and some days you just need a little extra encouragement and a reminder of the hope that you have. 

No matter where you are or what you are facing, listen to these beautiful words: 

BUT (that's one of those "biggest buts" of the Bible) 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.

Whether you need a fresh blow of encouragement or a complete fresh start, this is what we need to hear and remember. God's love is steadfast and never ceasing. It goes on and on. It doesn't change or waver. His mercies never stop coming, morning after morning. Oh how great, the faithfulness of our God! Even if we are in the deepest, darkest pit, this simple recollection will renew our hope when we call it to mind. 

May this truth and promise come to mind like a wave of refreshing hope, washing over us and coming out of our mouths like worship, saying, "The Lord is my portion. He is enough for me. Therefore I will continue to hope in him." 

God is good to those who wait for him and seek him. It is good that we should wait quietly on the Lord, our Hope.