Brennan and I finally had a day yesterday where no breathing treatments were needed.
The Wildcats won a game.
Hope was restored to a dear sister in need.
I woke to new mercies from our Father...Lamentations 3:19-26...
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."
to the soul who seeks him.
26It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Notice though what had not changed...both the Lord and Jeremiah's circumstances were the same. That's good for me to remember today. How much I love it when my hope is restored because my situation has changed...when the illness ends, the money matches the wants, the wounds are healed, the bitterness forgiven, the team wins...
But Jeremiah has found the truest help in his time of need. Not a different day, but a different view of God. Notice in verse 21 the discipline of pulling his thoughts back into line. He called it to mind. Thought hard about God. Who He is? What's He like?
Oh, yeah...that's right. The Lord is steadfast. His love never wavers. His mercies will never cease toward me or any of His people. Jehovah arises with blessing for us. He is faithful. Great is His faithfulness.
But notice now what changed everything within Jeremiah. In verse 24, he gives me a further instruction. Not only did he discipline his mind to think on God, but what Jeremiah saw of God was more than thoughts, more than words. They became his portion. His treasure. His truest good. His highest goal. His only hope.
John Piper wrote a book titled "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" that was written to get after this kind of seeing. That second word is what Jeremiah was doing in that verse. It is not enough to see Christ, to view Him from an emotional distance. Satan has stood before the throne and seen the Lord face to face. But he does not love what he sees. He is unmoved by the beauty and supremacy and glory of our Savior. And too often I am just like him...and because of it, I am without hope.
But like Jeremiah, I too can turn my thoughts back to God and move not just to thinking but to savoring all that God is for me in Christ. The Lord is steadfast. Oh, Father, how true that is. You have never wavered toward me. You have sealed me in Your Son and I remain free in Him. Your mercies will never cease toward your people. Yes, Father. Your Son has done all that was needed to secure not just the end of Your wrath, but the fullness of Your pleasure toward us. His righteousness is now ours through His blood on the cross. He is faithful. Not just faithful, Father, but Great is Your faithfulness. There is no shadow of turning with thee. You remain faithful when I am faithless for you cannot be untrue to Yourself.
This I call to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord is good...so I am good. And it is good for me to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
