READ: LAMENTATIONS 3: 22-24
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. (V. 22)
The mixed men’s and women’s golf league ends with a social gathering where we learn of the winners; discuss the splendid and not so splendid shots; and catch up on personal news and events. Jon approached me and asked, “How is Emma?” Emma, my wife, suffers from advancing COPD. I explained she was able to go to Florida for 7 weeks which helped her breathing. However, a week after coming home she fractured a vertebra in her back. “Poor Emma,” he exclaimed, “she cannot seem to catch a break.” I explained the fracture was due to her COPD related coughing, combined with thinning bone mass and steroid medications, which adversely affected her bone density. Told him she is hanging tough and doing better as she takes one day at a time—we are blessed!
I then asked Jon about he and Pam’s winter, but more importantly inquired about the health of their daughter. His response, “A weight has been lifted from my shoulders!” You see his daughter had been fighting an acute case of breast cancer all of last year. Her prognosis was less than promising requiring chemo and major surgery. Jon and Pam, faithful and caring parents, spent most of their time caring for their grandchildren and daughter during her grueling treatment program. Then came the news after her last round of surgery— “You are cancer free!” “My daughter was cancer free, we are so blessed,” replied Jon. Most assuredly an enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders! Once again, the theme of blessings came up within the context of a short 5-minute conversation. God at work nothing more needs be said.
Jeremiah wrote Lamentations as a funeral dirge for the city of Jerusalem. The city lay in ruins and many people had been made slaves and carried off to Babylon. This was God’s prescribed punishment for their continued rebellion and disobedience. However, despite administrating a well-deserved dose of severe discipline, God remained faithful using this adversity to turn the hearts of his people back to him. Deliverance would take 70 years, many heart-felt prayers asking for forgiveness, to complete God’s refining work for those who believed. New mercies would be evident as the dawn of a new day. A huge weight had been lifted from the shoulders of those who had remained faithful—they were blessed!
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER
God’s love and faithfulness never ends even during trying and foreboding seasons of our lives. What weight needs to be lifted from your shoulders today?
Dear God, we humbly thank you for your faithful love that endures forever and produces blessings in our lives every single day.