Faithful and Merciful One Day at a Time~Bob Caldwell

Monday July 13 2009

Faithful and Merciful One Day at a Time 3:22-23 Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Jeremiah expresses his own personal agony that mirrors the agony of Jerusalem in the opening verses of chapter three. Jerusalem's pain is past due for their flagrant and arrogant violation of everything God had created them to be. Jeremiah's agony has resulted from watching Jerusalem destroyed as a result of its own spiritual cancer along with the hatred and violence heaped upon him because he warned of God's coming judgment (v. 1-18). In the midst of the hate and ridicule that the people of Jerusalem had heaped upon Jeremiah as he warned them of judgment, he began to feel as if God had turned His back on him as well. His prayers did not seem to be heard, and the situations he encountered in his life made him feel God Himself was setting him up for an ambush. It was as if a lion or a bear was hiding, just waiting for the right moment to pounce on him (v. 7-11). Jeremiah, however, knew God too well to allow himself this state of hopeless despair. Like many of us, when we are faced with the turmoil of a fallen world, we can feel uniquely alone. The sinful world that we choose to not share in attacks us. At the same time, the judgment that God brings upon the world for its sins also seems to afflict us with a deep sorrow as we watch all the good that God does destroyed by the One who gave it. This is a loss whose ripple effect painfully affects our own lives. Jeremiah pulled out of this deep pit of despair because he began to remember the unchanging perfections of God. Hope began to be restored as he threw himself upon God's unfailing mercy and compassion. Jeremiah knew deep within himself that God's mercy and compassion were waiting for him every morning. Yes, each day would be filled with adversity. But each day would also be filled with even more strengthening mercy. God Himself would be the spiritual provision for Jeremiah to be "more than a conqueror" in the midst of the suffering that may come (Rom. 8:35-37). This is a truth that every sincere believer must come to terms with in this fallen world. The trials that uniquely lie waiting to pounce upon us can be overcome with a greater faithfulness from God, every morning of every day. This mercy that is faithfully waiting clearly teaches us to live one day at a time. The vast majority of our anxieties, our fears, and our sorrows are created by adding up all the potential problems of a lifetime and trying to solve them today. Jesus warned us of this in one of the most practical statements on living in a tough and fallen world: "Give us this day our daily bread" and "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" (Matt. 6:11, 34). He is faithful—one day at a time.
Lamentations 3:1-66 The Prophet's Anguish and Hope 1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. 2 He has led me and made me walk In darkness and not in light. 3 Surely He has turned His hand against me Time and time again throughout the day. 4 He has aged my flesh and my skin, And broken my bones. 5 He has besieged me And surrounded me with bitterness and woe. 6 He has set me in dark places Like the dead of long ago. 7 He has hedged me in so that I cannot get out; He has made my chain heavy. 8 Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer. 9 He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. 10 He has been to me a bear lying in wait, Like a lion in ambush. 11 He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces; He has made me desolate. 12 He has bent His bow And set me up as a target for the arrow. 13 He has caused the arrows of His quiver To pierce my loins. 14 I have become the ridicule of all my people— Their taunting song all the day. 15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drink wormwood. 16 He has also broken my teeth with gravel, And covered me with ashes. 17 You have moved my soul far from peace; I have forgotten prosperity. 18 And I said, "My strength and my hope Have perished from the LORD." 19 Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. 20 My soul still remembers And sinks within me. 21 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. 22 Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" 25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. 26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. 28 Let him sit alone and keep silent, Because God has laid it on him; 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust— There may yet be hope. 30 Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him, And be full of reproach. 31 For the Lord will not cast off forever. 32 Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies. 33 For He does not afflict willingly, Nor grieve the children of men. 34 To crush under one's feet All the prisoners of the earth, 35 To turn aside the justice due a man Before the face of the Most High, 36 Or subvert a man in his cause— The Lord does not approve. 37 Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, When the Lord has not commanded it? 38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High That woe and well-being proceed? 39 Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins? 40 Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; 41 Let us lift our hearts and hands To God in heaven. 42 We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned. 43 You have covered Yourself with anger And pursued us; You have slain and not pitied. 44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud, That prayer should not pass through. 45 You have made us an offscouring and refuse In the midst of the peoples. 46 All our enemies Have opened their mouths against us. 47 Fear and a snare have come upon us, Desolation and destruction. 48 My eyes overflow with rivers of water For the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49 My eyes flow and do not cease, Without interruption, 50 Till the LORD from heaven Looks down and sees. 51 My eyes bring suffering to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. 52 My enemies without cause Hunted me down like a bird. 53 They silenced my life in the pit And threw stones at me. 54 The waters flowed over my head; I said, "I am cut off!" 55 I called on Your name, O LORD, From the lowest pit. 56 You have heard my voice: "Do not hide Your ear From my sighing, from my cry for help." 57 You drew near on the day I called on You, And said, "Do not fear!" 58 O Lord, You have pleaded the case for my soul; You have redeemed my life. 59 O LORD, You have seen how I am wronged; Judge my case. 60 You have seen all their vengeance, All their schemes against me. 61 You have heard their reproach, O LORD, All their schemes against me, 62 The lips of my enemies And their whispering against me all the day. 63 Look at their sitting down and their rising up; I am their taunting song. 64 Repay them, O LORD, According to the work of their hands. 65 Give them a veiled heart; Your curse be upon them! 66 In Your anger, Pursue and destroy them From under the heavens of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:1-66 v. I am the man who has seen affliction – In this chapter Jeremiah parallels his suffering with the suffering of Israel. Jeremiah draws from his personal experiences with God to demonstrate God's mercy and faithfulness toward His people. v. 11 turned aside – This term is derived from a Hebrew verb meaning, "to go aside, deviate, make to draw back." In other words, to mislead. v. 15 made me drink wormwood – Wormwood was a bitter-tasting shrub that was used for medicinal purposes and for making tea. v. 16 broken my teeth with gravel – This is a reference to teeth being broken by shoving one's face in the gravel. v. 22 the LORD's mercies – Mercies used in this verse is hesed (Heb.), and is often translated as lovingkindness. This term denotes grace, mercy, and compassion. v. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust – Putting one's mouth in the dust was a way of demonstrating humble submission to God. v. 34 to crush under one's feet – This is likely a reference to the Israelite's treatment from the Babylonians in 586 BC. v. 53 They silenced my life in the pit – Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jucal, and Pashhure had Jeremiah thrown into a pit in an attempt to silence his prophetic warning of God's imminent judgment on Jerusalem (Jer. 38).
Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. –Lamentations 3:22-23 More wonderful words have never been heard, O God! Your love, compassion, and faithfulness renew us and daily give us the chance to make different choices and behave in new ways. Today is the day, Lord, that we seek to follow Your path and to do Your will. We seek You, Lord, to be with us every second of this day. Thank You that we can start fresh. Thank You for Your grace and mercy.
Mom's Refresher I'm thankful for the young mothers/ musicians who attend Mom's Refresher and lead our study in worship each week. They are truly Spirit led and it is so encouraging to start in worship before the Lord each week and to enter into His courts with thanksgiving. It's a blessing to have mid-week worship with sisters in Christ. Prayer Points That the Lord Jesus would continue to provide these young mothers with time to practice and use their gifts for the edification of the whole body.