Lamentations 3:22-27  
The faithful love of the LORD never ends! 
His mercies never cease. 
Great is his faithfulness; 
his mercies begin afresh each morning. 
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; 
therefore, I will hope in him!” 

The LORD is good to those who depend on him, 
to those who search for him. 
So it is good to wait quietly 
for salvation from the LORD. 
And it is good for people to submit at an early age 
to the yoke of his discipline: (NLT)

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Great is God’s faithfulness!

Some things never change. God’s faithful love never changes. God’s mercies never end. God’s faithful nature is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

This is bedrock truth. You can build a life on this, a family, a community, a world, a legacy. 

Hard times come to us all. Great difficulties bludgeon us. Sadness and grief threaten to drain our supplies of tears. Our energy is exhausted. The laments of this book express these realities as forlornly as did Job. 

Pain is a problem for us all. It is not, however, ultimate reality. Beyond what we can see, touch, hear, or say, there is a final state for those who trust God from the bottom of their hearts. There is God’s faithful love. There is unending mercy. There is renewal enduring forever. 

No hope placed in God is ever disappointed for long. 

No search for God comes up empty. 

No wait for God ends in disappointment. 

No one who places their hopes in him and leans into his discipline regrets it. 

There is goodness and grace beyond lament. 

Mercy arrives each day more surely than the mail brings bills and junk.

Mercy arrives each morning more surely than the sun replaces moon and starlight each day.

Mercy arrives more gloriously than birdsong in spring and bluebonnets in bloom.

Great is God’s faithfulness!

God’s faithful, loyal love is why we can wait with confidence, trust with assurance, live with hope.

The path may be hard. The pain may be unbearable. The loss may leave us forlorn. There is, however, a morning after arriving with mercy, tenderness, kindness, and healing grace. There is a land fairer than day. There is hope reason knows nothing of. There is something better than the best we have yet known. 

Jeremiah could smile through his lament. He kept confident while reciting painful poetry. He agreed with Ecclesiastes 7:8, “Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out,” (The Message).

Lament is only the final word of those who decisively turn their hearts away from God’s grace and salvation. In such a state of heart, it is the only final word possible. For those who trust God from the bottom of their hearts, the final state is tearless and joyful, always and forever. 

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I will wait through the pain for the land that is fairer than day.

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Our Father, thank you that we can trust you with each moment of every day. None of our circumstances or losses ever interferes with the reality of your faithful love, your daily doses of mercy, and the hope that helps us endure all of our hurts. Thank you for your goodness and salvation. Thank you for the eternal day that will dawn illumined by your presence, expressing your grace, enfolding us in your perfect love. Thank you for such a hope that helps us see beyond the pains of the present. Amen.