God’s Goodness to the Seeker

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, says my soul, ‘therefore I will 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 wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” –Lamentations 3:22-27 (ESV).

The focus of the laments in the book of Lamentations was the fall of Jerusalem in the year 586 B. C.  The structure is in the form of five lyric poems.  The first four of these are acrostic poems, using the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.  The exception is the third one of the poems in which each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used three times, making 66 verses. Although chapter five has twenty-two verses, it is not an acrostic poem like the others.  The book of Lamentations does not name its author.  However the Septuagint (Greek) version had an introduction translated thus:  “And it came to pass, after Israel had been carried into captivity and Jerusalem had been laid waste that Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem and said,”  and then come the five poems..Scholarly arguments on authorship to the contrary, the fact remains that the book and its laments have been preserved for us, and these are the inspired words of God with application not only for the time written but for any age.

Today’s focus verses are from the section in the third poem when the author of Lamentations (and I personally tend to believe the author was Jeremiah the prophet) remembered the mercy and grace of the Lord rather than the miserable conditions of the times.  Even in times of gravest troubles, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.”  A little anonymous poem shows how important it is for us to consider the love and mercy of the Lord for our hope despite circumstances:

                        “Look at yourself and you’ll be depressed.

                        Look at circumstances and you’ll be distressed.

                        Look at the Lord and you’ll be blessed.”

A secret to overcoming is drawing each morning upon the mercies of the Lord.  Someone has aptly observed that attitude is imperative to winning in life.  A still popular book with children is “The Little Engine that Could.”  From our youth onward throughout life, if we can learn to look to the Lord, depending on Him for direction and strength, we can be victorious in overcoming obstacles and pressing toward worthy goals.

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lam. 3:25).  Waiting upon the Lord to work out His will and seeking Him whatever the circumstances constitute the basis of a vital trust in the Lord. This is not passive, listless waiting, but positive service and sincere seeking.  Indeed, with this attitude, we will find, every morning—and all day long—“mercies new.”  And what could be more motivating than to know assuredly that God is our portion and our strength, “a very present help in trouble”?