“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.” (Lamentations 3:22-25)
The words that we read from this week’s Old Testament lesson from Lamentations 3 provide great comfort in the midst of pain and suffering. The good news is that the Lord is good to those who have faith in Him. That tenacity of faith is what upholds the believer up in our pain and grief. The flip side of this is that although many people read these words for comfort, only those who have faith in Jesus find that comfort. Those who do not have faith in Jesus, will not be comforted for their faith rests on something or someone else, even self. To whom do they turn when faced with trouble and suffering? As we have seen over the past years, many turn to the media, the government, science, as well as social and cultural organizations which share their ideologies. Such organizations make people feel a kinship with others as they believe themselves to be a part of something larger than themselves. This is why the violence we see around us takes root and spreads. People find solidarity, purpose, and self-esteem in a shared struggle or common cause however misguided, hateful, or insane.
And yet they eventually find that every such groups are flawed. Those who lead them fall into sin, greed, lust, pride and so on for they are composed of and led by people who do not really love or care about others, only the self. People who trust in such groups may be driven then to despair, cynical agnosticism, and even suicide. That is a good place to be for the Spirit of God can reach out to them and give them help, provided that have not totally hardened their hearts to His love.
Thses words of Lamenations were written by such a desperate person the prophet Jeremiah who, earlier in this chapter, used extremely graphic language to describe his spiritual and emotional horror in response to the fall of Jerusalem as well as his own suffering. Jeremiah shows us, that for those who seek the Lord, who speak their minds to Him with bold intensity, will find that their despair leads them to hope. The hope of which Jeremiah spoke may not change the immediate situation or conditions, but it can strenthen our faith. That hope is the guarantee that the Lord will supply the strength we need to endure and will be there in the midst of our suffering carrying us through. That hope is not mere wishful thinking or bravado to keep our spirits up. That hope is firm assurance based on the absolute trustworthiness of God who always keeps His word. It is based on Jesus Himself who will lead us into glory as we live by the faith He bestows.