The prophet Jeremiah wrote "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. " (Lamentations 3:21-23 KJV)
We often read that passage with somewhat of a misunderstanding of the prophet's message. He begins verse 21 with the word this. If we begin our reading at verse twenty-one it is easy to think that the This he is referring to are the mercies, compassions, and faithfulness of the LORD he speaks of in the verses following it. When you think about it, there's nothing inherently amiss about framing it that way, but that perspective does somewhat counter the great Truth Jeremiah was trying to convey to the reader.
Flip back to the beginning of Lamentations chapter 3, starting at verse 1. Jeremiah very specifically recounts how he has been the recipient of affliction at the hand of God. I know that flies in the face of some popular theologies of the day which lead us to believe that bad things don't happen to good people, or that a loving God is all sunshine and roses, but He does still have a wrath and judgment to which even his people are at times subject. The prophet, beginning with verse 2 and continuing through verse 16 declares how miserable the Lord has made his life. I'll give pause for you to read it for yourself. Each of those verses begins with the statement "He has...". Have you ever known that the troubles or difficulties you were facing were not just happenstance or random occurrences, but as Solomon wrote "For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." (Proverbs 3:12 KJV) and which principle Paul corroborates in his first letter to the church at Corinth when he advises them to "...deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:5 ESV). Not that I for a moment think, as do some, that God is this great, angry grandparent just waiting for you to mess up so he can catch you in your sin. Quite the contrary, as Jeremiah lamented, God takes time to correct His loved ones that we might 1. not continue in self-destructive ways, 2. avoid future (earthly and eternal) self-destruction, 3. realize how much He actually loves us and revel in such understanding.
So, as we return to our verse, considering it in the context of all that was written prior to it, we can now see that Jeremiah's THIS conjures everything from verse 1 through verse 20. Even though verse twenty says his soul sinks in remembering all the troubles God levied against him, it is also in his ability to remember; that he is still alive and kicking, that he didn't wake up that morning crazed and deranged, he may have been in poor health but he still had health, life hadn't been a crystal stair, but he was still able to climb -all these things. He was still alive and had the mental faculties to remember that they once were, but today is another day and one where God was merciful, compassionate, and faithful.
We all have had, and still have, troubles that wear on us, things that can easily cause us to throw up our hands in defeat, curl up in a ball, suck our thumbs, and weep in self-pity. But our testimony of the mercy, compassion, and faithfulness of the Father is that we can remember. As the text says, they are new every morning. Each day God gives us further opportunity to be like Joseph, putting life in its proper context, knowing that the events, activities, and circumstances of our past were being used by God to give you testimony and proper praise of Him.
So today I want you to take a look at your present situation, and ask yourself, "What is my THIS"?
We often read that passage with somewhat of a misunderstanding of the prophet's message. He begins verse 21 with the word this. If we begin our reading at verse twenty-one it is easy to think that the This he is referring to are the mercies, compassions, and faithfulness of the LORD he speaks of in the verses following it. When you think about it, there's nothing inherently amiss about framing it that way, but that perspective does somewhat counter the great Truth Jeremiah was trying to convey to the reader.
Flip back to the beginning of Lamentations chapter 3, starting at verse 1. Jeremiah very specifically recounts how he has been the recipient of affliction at the hand of God. I know that flies in the face of some popular theologies of the day which lead us to believe that bad things don't happen to good people, or that a loving God is all sunshine and roses, but He does still have a wrath and judgment to which even his people are at times subject. The prophet, beginning with verse 2 and continuing through verse 16 declares how miserable the Lord has made his life. I'll give pause for you to read it for yourself. Each of those verses begins with the statement "He has...". Have you ever known that the troubles or difficulties you were facing were not just happenstance or random occurrences, but as Solomon wrote "For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." (Proverbs 3:12 KJV) and which principle Paul corroborates in his first letter to the church at Corinth when he advises them to "...deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:5 ESV). Not that I for a moment think, as do some, that God is this great, angry grandparent just waiting for you to mess up so he can catch you in your sin. Quite the contrary, as Jeremiah lamented, God takes time to correct His loved ones that we might 1. not continue in self-destructive ways, 2. avoid future (earthly and eternal) self-destruction, 3. realize how much He actually loves us and revel in such understanding.
So, as we return to our verse, considering it in the context of all that was written prior to it, we can now see that Jeremiah's THIS conjures everything from verse 1 through verse 20. Even though verse twenty says his soul sinks in remembering all the troubles God levied against him, it is also in his ability to remember; that he is still alive and kicking, that he didn't wake up that morning crazed and deranged, he may have been in poor health but he still had health, life hadn't been a crystal stair, but he was still able to climb -all these things. He was still alive and had the mental faculties to remember that they once were, but today is another day and one where God was merciful, compassionate, and faithful.
We all have had, and still have, troubles that wear on us, things that can easily cause us to throw up our hands in defeat, curl up in a ball, suck our thumbs, and weep in self-pity. But our testimony of the mercy, compassion, and faithfulness of the Father is that we can remember. As the text says, they are new every morning. Each day God gives us further opportunity to be like Joseph, putting life in its proper context, knowing that the events, activities, and circumstances of our past were being used by God to give you testimony and proper praise of Him.
So today I want you to take a look at your present situation, and ask yourself, "What is my THIS"?
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