anguish...and hope! [Lamentations 3]

image from www.shellibourque.com

One of the first places I turn to is Lamentations 3:22-24 when my soul is troubled: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I hope in Him!' But I don't take the time to read what's around those verses. 

It's easy to search out verses that bring me peace, but I need to take in the whole counsel of God - not just the bits and pieces of passages that I find comforting. So I read most of the book of Lamentations (5 chapters - it's in between the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel). Jeremiah wrote this lament over Jerusalem, and it's not uplifting at all, save the few verses in chapter 3. He describes the utter shaming of his people, his homeland; how the judgement of God had come upon them. He writes of starvation, death, destruction. Jeremiah is in anguish over the state of things - and that God has allowed these things. The first 20 verses of chapter 3 describe how the Lord has greatly afflicted Jeremiah. My eyes filled with tears for the hopelessness pouring off the pages. for the confusion. for the agony that he felt watching his people suffer for their sins. and then for the dread of what I know I deserve for my unfaithfulness to the Lord. Four and a half of the five chapters are painful to read!!

And then, this respite in a barren place:

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope!!
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I hope in Him!”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
to the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear
the yoke in his youth.
Let him sit alone and keep silent,
because God has laid it on him;
let him put his mouth in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him,
and be full of reproach.
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
Though He causes grief,
yet He will show compassion
according to the multitude of His mercies!
For He does not afflict willingly,
nor grieve the children of men.

He does. not. afflict. willingly. For all that befell the Israelites, and all that has come to me in the way of uncomfortable circumstances - God does not afflict willingly! He does not grieve my heart willingly. He IS merciful and compassionate, and it's easy enough to cling to just those few verses - but until His mercy is cast upon the somber and devastating backdrop of the wretchedness of my deeds and my sin and my unfaithfulness - it doesn't mean as much to me.

I need to be reminded often that I. am. depraved. Left to my own desires and wishes, I want what I think is best for me. When the Lord allows affliction, it's sometimes because He wants me to come to terms with my sin and cast myself again upon His mercies.

A little farther down, I see:
Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass,
when the Lord has not commanded it?!
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that woe and well-being proceed?
Why should a living man complain,
a man for the punishment of his sins?
Let us search out and examine our ways,
and turn back to the Lord;
let us lift our hearts and hands
to God in heaven.
[Lamentations 3:21-33,37-41]

Why should I complain when I see the consequences of my sin? It's true that Jesus Christ bore the punishment for my sins once and for all on the cross; but it is also true that when I sow sin in my life, I will eventually reap the consequences. God's grace may cover the due punishment for my sin, but it does not allow escape for the outcome.

Let me continually search and examine my ways, to see whether or not I am being selfish or seeking what the Lord says in any and all matters; Father, let me always turn back to You the instant I realize I'm beginning to turn away! Thank You that You are merciful, and Your compassions never fail; thank You that You are faithful to Your word regardless of how faithless and sinful I am!! Without the depths of my sin, I'd not appreciate the heights of Your forgiveness & love. Be it ever so, Lord!

Great is His faithfulness,
for His glory!
~Lisha



[If this post has blessed or encouraged you, please feel free leave a comment or to share with friends!]

Psalm 148

Praise the LORD!

Praise Him, all His angels;

praise Him, all His hosts!

Praise Him, sun and moon;

praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens,

and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for He commanded and they were created!

He also established them forever and ever;

He made a decree which shall not pass away.

Praise the LORD from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all the depths;

fire and hail, snow and clouds;

stormy wind, fulfilling His word;

mountains and all hills;

fruitful trees and all cedars;

beasts and all cattle;

creeping things and flying fowl;

kings of the earth and all peoples;

princes and all judges of the earth;

both young men and maidens;

old men and children.

Let them praise the name of the LORD,

for His name alone is exalted;

His glory is above the earth and heaven!

And He has exalted the horn of His people,

the praise of all His saints—

of the children of Israel,

a people near to Him.

Praise the LORD!

[Psalm 148]

This is the psalm I was reading early this morning and meditating on throughout the day...even the weather points to His glory and His majesty and it "fulfills His word". The storms are intense - but He is infinitely more amazing, more powerful, more breathtaking, more consuming than any storm could ever be!

I may be sharing this post at these uplifting Link-up parties!

It is better to have loved and lost...

The following is a re-post of a note that I wrote back in June. As always, God was working on my heart for what was to come. As you may know by now, Will & I lost our baby yesterday after 8 glorious weeks of pregnancy. We are taking time to grieve; even though we have never met Baby H we have loved him/her all the same since we knew God was forming him/her in my womb. However...well, just read the note. We have learned much from the children God has given us. We are embracing the storm. 

Functioning only by His mercy (and yes, Sheryl, what a sweet place to be!), 
Lisha 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

My girls love to be outside. Love it. It doesn't matter what is going on; snowstorm, sunshine, downpour, etc (we haven't tested things like hurricanes, cyclones, or earthquakes, but I'm willing to bet they'd love it for a couple minutes until they got carried away!). 

We were outside playing in the rain today and as I was watching them, and playing with them, I was thinking about some of the more unpleasant times Will & I have had in the last 6 months or so. The "storms of life," if you will. How many times do we come into a storm in life (financial crisis, death of a loved one, etc) complaining and moaning about how bad things are, worrying about how much worse they'll get, crying "why me?" I'm not saying these emotions and doubts are bad, but we seem to psychologically prepare ourselves to be miserable for the long haul (at least, I do!). 

I watched my girls embrace the rainstorm. They didn't care about how cold and wet they were. They didn't worry about how they were going to have to change their clothes when we got inside. They just enjoyed the time in the storm, in the safe and comforting presence of Mom & Dad, feeling the rain soaking them, taking it all in with joy. And that's how God wants us to enter the storms that He allows us to go through...His Word tells us to count it all joy when we go through various trials (James 1:something). Embrace the storm with open arms. Look for what you have to learn from it. Know that God sends us these times to grow our character, and know that He is present to comfort us and keep us close! Just as He does not waste rainy days (He sends the rain to help the crops grow!), He does not waste our painful times - He sends them to help us grow, too. 

If you are going through various trials, be encouraged. Embrace the storm! And trust in the God who controls the storm!