Articles
A Fresh Start
* * * * * * * * * *
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!"
(Lam. 3:22-24)
* * * * * * * * * *
Finally, we are done with 2020!
Between the pandemic, political conflict, racial violence, and earthquakes, it's been a hard year for all of us. Now we can look forward to a better year in 2021!
Except we have no guarantee that this new year will be any better than the old. In fact, there is a strong possibility that the troubles we've experienced over the past twelve months are only a precursor of worse to come. It's hard not to be discouraged.
Jeremiah's message in these verses were written for such a time as this. He wrote this Lamentation in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The city and Solomon's beautiful temple lay in ruins. Many of the Jews had been killed, and most of the survivors had been marched off into exile. The nation of Judah had ceased to exist, and all of God's promises to His people had come to naught.
But even in such a dark time, the prophet saw a glimmer of hope. The people had been exiled to a foreign land, but they were still the people of God. "We are not consumed" is a testament to the Lord's mercy, a simple reality that spoke to the possibility of a brighter future. The exiled Jews may have been victims of a terrible catastrophe, but they were also the seeds of a restored Israel. Within a couple of generations, God made good on His promises, and Israel got a fresh start in their homeland.
"Great is Your faithfulness" is not an empty platitude, but a rock solid attribute of the God whom we serve. Whatever burdens life has placed upon us, we have every reason to expect something better somewhere down the road. Every morning that we wake up, we are given the opportunity to face life afresh, to see the hand of God in even the most difficult of circumstances. "His compassions fail not," and we can witness the evidence of them all around us--if we will open our eyes to see them.
Whatever this year holds for us, good or bad, let us face it with a spirit of bold optimism. Let us adopt Jeremiah's motto as our own: "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I hope in Him!"
--David
