Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Worry”
Our Bible verse for today: “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I put my hope in Him.” Lamentations 3: 22-24 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “With the Lord there is always hope.”
If ever a man had good reason to lament, it was Jeremiah. He was a mighty man of God who had dedicated years of his life to warning God’s people about coming judgment and urging them to repent before it was too late. But they didn’t listen. So eventually God allowed the Babylonian army to sweep into Jerusalem – and the destruction was extreme.
Now, as Jeremiah surveyed the devastation, he was grieved to the point of wailing. Rubble lined the streets; the temple was in ruins; people were homeless and hungry; many others had been led off into captivity. The pain and despair was overwhelming and not only was Jeremiah despondent, but he was worried. How in the world were they supposed to go forward from here? Where would they live? How would they feed themselves? What did the future hold for them?
My friend, I know you have problems, but I doubt if they’re as bad as what Jeremiah and the Jews were facing at that time.
Amazingly, in the middle of all this pain and despair and hopelessness, Jeremiah utters one of the most profound statements of faith found in the Bible. In Lamentations 3:22-24 he writes about God’s faithful love for His people; he reminds his readers that the mercies of the Lord never end; that they are in fact new every morning; and He says that the Lord will be his portion and the source of his hope.
The people must have thought Jeremiah had become unhinged, that he was delusional. In the middle of all that carnage, as they thought about the wrecks their lives had become, Jeremiah told them not to worry because there was still good reason for hope. He went on in verses 25-26: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.”
Then he sums it up nicely in 5:19 where he writes, “You, Lord, are enthroned forever; Your throne endures from generation to generation.”
Look, no matter how bad things might seem in your life right now, the truth of the matter is that Jesus is still on the throne and you’re still saved. Beyond that, He is sovereign over all the situations of your life. Even if things don’t look so good right now, Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 are still true, God has a great plan for your life and even in the worst of situations He is actively working for your good.
When it comes to worrying about the future we can simply trust God. As the old saying goes, “God is large and in-charge.”
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 