Lamentations 3 Devotional

Hope Called to Mind

“Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail.”Lamentations 3:22 (BSB)

Lamentations 3 begins in deep darkness. A man describes himself as one who has suffered under the rod of God's anger (3:1). God has walled him in, shut out his prayer, and filled him with bitterness (3:7-8, 15). He says he has lost both strength and hope (3:18).

Then the poet turns. He brings something to mind and finds hope (3:21). Because of the LORD's loyal love, his people are not destroyed, and his mercies never run out but are renewed each morning (3:22-23). The LORD is his portion, so he will wait for him (3:24). The Lord will not reject forever. Even when he brings grief, he will show compassion, because affliction is not what his heart delights in (3:31-33). Hope here is not a mood. It is remembering who God is while the circumstances are unchanged. The chapter returns to tears (3:48-51), but now the poet can say that God came near and told him not to fear (3:57). Whatever this day holds, tomorrow's mercy will not run out.

To think about: What truth about God's faithful love do you need to call to mind today, even if nothing around you has changed yet?