The Lord Is Good
The Lord Is Good
Reading: Lamentations 3-5; Revelation 15
25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. 27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline: 28 Let them sit alone in silence beneath the Lord’s demands. 29 Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last. 30 Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them and accept the insults of their enemies. 31 For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. 33 For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow. (Lamentations 3:25-33 NLT)
Lamentations. Jeremiah’s lament. Jeremiah’s memory was seared with the pain of his rejection and mockery, torture and imprisonment by the Jews. The images of starving people in the streets of Jerusalem during the siege were forever burned in his mind. Sometimes it almost got to be too much for him to cope with!
Jeremiah had the spiritual discipline to be able to walk through a storm of feelings to the rock of faith, through a hurricane of facts to a refuge of truth.
Here’s how he did it:
• In the midst of great suffering and loss, I know God is good to those who depend on him, search for him and trust him.
• Wait quietly, submit willingly, seek diligently – God will show up.
• Quietly hope for help from God – stay with it, don’t give up.
• Why? Because God is good and God will come through!
It takes a lot of spiritual discipline and mental determination to walk the steep and winding pathway from despair to hope. Jeremiah did it. With God’s help we can all do it. There’s part of it that we can help each other with. We need to stay ready to ask for help, and we need to be ready to give help even if it isn’t asked for. We also must enter the silence of waiting quietly, submitting willingly, seeking diligently. Put your hope in God. God is good and God will come through for you!
Prayer:
Father, I remember the feeling of hitting the bottom. I also remember your loyal and merciful love – you are so faithful! Help me to be ready the next time the storm rages and help me to be sensitive, caring, and available to help my friends walk through their storms to your safety. Amen.