DEVOTION – DAY 478

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Great Is His Faithfulness”

Lamentations 3:22-23 “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

The writer of Lamentations wrote his letter to the Jewish exiles in Babylon not long after the fall of Jerusalem. In the first part of Lamentations 3, the writer described the feelings of despair that the exiles would have felt in captivity.  But from v.21, the writer reminded the exiles that they had hope. In vv22-23, the writer reminded everyone that their hope is in the Lord’s great love. In Hebrew, the words “great love” is in plural, and it points to the Lord’s loving faithfulness to the promises He had made with their forefathers – that He will be their God, and they will be His people. The Lord’s mercy will never end. It is new every morning, and His faithfulness is great. This is very comforting to all who may feel defeated and depressed. It is comforting to know that we are not facing our challenges alone. We have God’s presence with us. He is faithful and He keeps His promises. He has promised us that He will never leave us or desert us. 

We know a woman whose husband left her to start a new life with his mistress. She was left to run the family business on her own, and to raise her four children single-handedly. She was emotionally very low and wondered what went wrong. But she had to remain strong for the sake of her children. She had to be strong to manage her business so that she has income to pay their household bills. She could only turn to God. She clung on to God’s promises. She trusted that somehow, God would help her to get on with her life. 

When it became clear that her husband would never return to her and their children, she divorced him. She continued to manage the business until she found a buyer, and she could sell it for a profit. She was able to put all her children through college and apart from her youngest daughter who is completing her studies soon, the others have married. Looking back, she testified that God enabled her to overcome her many difficulties. God gave her the strength, patience and perseverance to raise her children on her own. God also filled the emptiness in her heart with His love. Great is His faithfulness.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are faithful and your mercies are new every morning. Thank you for always keeping your abundant promises made to us. Please help us to look up to you and never allow our circumstances to weigh us down. In you, we have hope. We pray this in the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What challenges do you face that you require hope and strength from the Lord?
  2. How has God been faithful and merciful to you each day?
  3. How does knowing that God is faithful and that His mercies are new every morning help you as you face hardships and difficulties?