Daily Devotion – March 26, 2020 – Pastor Brian Hansen
Lamentations 3:22-33
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations is a small book in the Old Testament whose title pretty much sums up the book, it is a lament. This short work is made up of five poems, whose structure primarily follows the Hebrew alphabet beginning with the Hebrew letter for A in each first verse and ending with the Hebrew letter Z in each last verse. Lamentations is a work that came from the experience of the people Israel’s captivity in Babylon. It asks the questions of why is God allowing this to happen and what are we to make of what we are experiencing.
Some scholars have noted that this work may be instructive and even helpful during times of disruption in our lives, as we begin to think about how structure can help us to move forward amidst times of distress and adjustment. Today’s verse from Lamentations invites us to consider that even as we face the challenges and unexpected struggles that life brings, we have a God whose love for us never ceases and whose faithfulness to us is unwavering.
Our Lutheran Study Bible has this helpful quote for us to think about as we consider Lamentations text this day, “To us, lamentation often sounds like despair, the opposite of faith. Yet Martin Luther taught that it is precisely in places where we would least expect to find God, in suffering, pain, disaster, catastrophe and in the cross – that God is clearly present. Lamentations, then does more than simply express despair. It shows us that in the most difficult of times and places, God is present and hears our deepest cries.”
Prayer: God of all creation, your steadfast love never ceases and your mercies never come to an end. Help us to see with every new morning the gifts ever present and around us as we care for all of your creation. AMEN
