The Lord is my Portion!

I completed reading the book of Jeremiah with a heavy heart. The entire city of Jerusalem, from the temple to the palace, was burned by Nebuchadnezzar.  They carried away all the sacred vessels and implements from the temple. King Zedekiah was blinded and taken to Babylon in fetters.  Judah was carried away from their own God-given land!  All because the people of Judah did not heed the warnings given by the Lord through the prophets.   They did not repent and turn from their wicked ways.  They willfully continued in all the evil practices of the surrounding nations.  Prophet Jeremiah witnessed everything with his own eyes and sat weeping and lamented over Jerusalem.  He says, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (Lam 3:1).

As Jeremiah witnessed the devastation left in the aftermath of Jerusalem’s fall, he reflected on the darkness and despair engulfing the once glorious city (Lam 3:1-18).  But Jeremiah did not just stop there.  Jeremiah remembered God’s faithfulness in the past, and that brought a change in his emotions.  He recognized that God was the only hope for his people.   The Bible says, “Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;  Great is Your faithfulness” (Lam 3:22-24).  Even in the severity of God’s correction, there was evidence of His compassion. That is the greatest encouragement for anyone.  Each dawning day gives humanity hope, filled with fresh mercies and compassion from God, and God has promised to send them every day without fail. No matter how bad the past has been, God’s people can look to the new morning with faith, and hope for the Lord is our portion!  

Today’s world is full of pain and bitterness.  Many are disappointed and discouraged by the current affairs.  Some problems seem to defy all solutions.  But the Lord of hosts is with us all the time.  The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. 

My friend, do not focus on the troubles around or the past.  Every day is a gift from God.  His mercies are new every morning. Every day presents us with a new beginning, a new opportunity to discover and experience God’s love; a new opportunity to repent, and walk closer to Him; a new opportunity to live for Him.  Let us make use of this new beginning!

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