HIS COMPASSION NEVER FAILS
Lamentations 3:22-26 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. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
It is thought that Jeremiah wrote Lamentations. He had preached repentance for the sin of idol worship, but the Jews refused to listen and even persecuted him. Because of their refusal to turn from the idol worship, God sent the Babylonians to conquer them and send them into exile. The campaign was long and many Jews suffered and died as well as being taken into exile. Even though Jeremiah was humiliated and punished for warning them, he still was consumed with sorrow and brokenness for the condition of his fellow countrymen. In some ways the book of Lamentations is much like of a wake for the death of a beloved family member. Yet in his brokenness and sorrow, he still had hope in the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord.
Everyone experiences sorrow in their life. It is certainly nothing anyone wants, but the reality is it is part of life. How we respond to it is different for all people including Christians. Some say that Christians should not grieve over the loss of a loved one, but they should rejoice that the deceased no longer has the sorrows of this life to deal with. While this may be true at least for Christians that have passed away, for those that reject Jesus it is quite a different story. The bottom line is we grieve, because we love them and will miss them. I don't believe that it is a selfish grief, but rather one of the loss of personal loving relationship that will no longer be able to be enjoyed here on earth.
Jeremiah knew that God’s punishment was just and God had certainly wanted and tried for years even generations to get the Jews to return to him and love him. So it wasn’t a matter of God being unjust in his punishment as much as sorrow that it all had to come to such sorrow. As great as Jeremiah’s grief was it didn’t compare to that of the Lord’s. It has never been God’s intention to punish anyone including Satan and the powers of darkness. It was always God’s desire to love and bless his creation. But because of a free will, his creation willingly chose to rebel from God. Because of this God’s justice demanded satisfaction. This is why II Samuel 14:14 tells us that God devised a plan so that the banished would not have to remain estranged from him. God sent his sinless Son to atone for our sins, so God would not have to punish us. Jesus not only removed our guilt and shame, but God’s sorrow and grief in his need to punish us. As much as we dislike God’s punishment, God hates to do it even more! The only reason God had to punish Israel the way he did was because they refused to seek forgiveness of their idol worship and return to him. And so it is with everyone that refuses to ask Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin and doesn’t want eternal life with him. The Lord is quick to forgive, but we must humble ourselves and ask him. Oh, what sadness and regret we could save ourselves by seeking Jesus early in our life. Jesus is so quick to save. His compassion never fails even when our faithfulness falls so short. Because of his great love for us, morning after morning his wonderful grace is extended to us in ever increasing measure. Our sinfulness or falling short of perfection can never be so bad that the love and grace of God can not super exceed it.
Sometimes in our life our constant falling short of God’s glory and even our own expectations for our christ-likeness wears us down and sorrow and depression seem to overwhelm us to the point of robbing us of all hope. But as Jeremiah reminds us we have good reason to place our hope for today and all our tomorrows in the grace, mercy and love of the Lord. He comes fresh and new each morning to shower us with blessings and not condemnation. Even though we are deserving of his punishment, because of his great sacrifice for us we have the peace, joy and his wonderful love that passes all understanding. It is no wonder that Rev 21:1-4 reminds us that the old order of things will have changed and there will no longer be any death, mourning, crying or pain. Salvation will have come for every area of our life. Until then we must wait patiently with the wonderful hope in our heart knowing we don’t have to experience it alone.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, we rejoice that you are the great Comforter, and are so willing to come and help us in our sorrow and grief. You are a wonderful and great God to us.
