Day 169 – April 10, 2024: Lamentations 1-5

I have to admit that I entered this reading not fully remembering the tone or the words of Lamentations, but with the assumption that it was filled only with, well, laments. I guess I was partially right, although not fully. Being a person who is a glass half full kind of guy, I did find something that surprised me and that had to be shared. Look at 3:22-24. These words should sound familiar, and yet they seem to be a bit like a fish out of water. The entire book is filled with laments about how, justifiably, God has turned His back on is people because of their disobedience. But the descriptions we find are complete. When God turns His back, well, it seems like there is no coming back from that.

But 3:22-24 tells us a completely different story. This promise that God’s love never fails, that God will return and reward is echoed over the next few verses, then it transitions back to the laments. But how easy it is to miss this promise in the midst of the laments. It reminds me of how easy it is to miss the promises of God in the midst of our laments, in the midst of our own self-satisfying complaints. God’s faithfulness is great and it is new every morning. Think upon that more frequently.