September 1st, 2017

“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 with it.” -Lamentations 3:22-23
 
Jeremiah points out that God will be faithful every step of the way. This book is about the lamentation of the prophet as he watched the way the Israelites were not responding to God’s guidance. So Jeremiah forces himself to bring truth to the forefront of his thinking. He realizes that if he does not think positively of God’s goodness he could be drawn into discouragement, despair and bitterness. Although Jeremiah is aware of the plight of the people, he understands that it is of their own making.
 
Jeremiah focused his mind so he could break out of this pattern and cycle of despair. What Jeremiah did was something we need to do as well. We need to engage our will and purposely focus on things other than our problems. We need to intentionally think about all the goodness we have had in God.
 
First of all we need to be thankful for our salvation. Verse 22 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” It states because of God’s great love we should not be consumed–His compassion never fails. God stands by the people He has chosen. God loves us because He promised to love us and nothing can cause Him to break his promise. As bad as we often think things are, if it were not for God, things would be much worse. We all can look back in our lives and see how God has brought us through our difficult times and circumstances. Compassion literally means “to be moved in the heart out of love for another.”
 
Verse 23 says, “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” They are new every morning, think of this, each and every day we are given new blessings not old ones recycled. They are new and fresh every morning. God’s blessings are never too early or too late. 
 
God will give us more if we need more or if we need something else, He will give us that as well. Because His love for us is so immense He will never withhold anything. We need to remember He gave His son Jesus to die on the cross for my needs and sinfulness. His compassion will never fail.
 
How encouraging, refreshing and wonderful that we have a God who is always faithful, in spite of our shortcomings. God can be trusted. We often talk about God’s love, power and greatness but fail to rest in his assurance of His faithfulness.
 
Jeremiah saw the destruction of His beloved city, Jerusalem, His people taken into captivity. It would have been easy for him to question God, but Jeremiah says “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
 
God is consistent in His character. God is Holy, God is merciful, God is truth, God is love. There is no change in Him. Psalm 33:4 says, “For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” God is faithful to say He is true to His word.
 
We can rest assured that God always keeps His promises. There is no greater hope than knowing that God is totally reliable.
 
I praise God for His mercies each morning. We may be faint and weary but our Heavenly Father is all powerful, His feelings are steady. He is unchangeable. The song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” sums it up all for me.
 
What an encouragement to live for Him no matter what our needs are. We can count on God’s faithfulness. We are hoping to have a great fall. Hope you enjoy the change of colors and glorify God’s blessings.
 
In Christ’s steps,
Pastor Shaker
 

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