Lamentations 3:22-23. 22The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
These are some of the most beloved words in all of scripture. I’m sure you recognize them from the chorus of that great hymn of the faith. But what many don’t realize is that these great words of hope in the center of Lamentations are sandwiched by the intense pain, sorrow, and tragedy of Jerusalem’s destruction and the desolation of the people of Judah at the hands of the Babylonians, and at the hands of God himself. Listen to these words leading up to “great is your faithfulness”:
3:2. [God] has driven and brought me into darkness without any light;
3:8. though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer;
3:17-18. my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”
And these words following “great is your faithfulness”:
3:43-45. You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.
Jeremiah’s lamentation offers us entrance into the dual realities of this world. The reality of uncontrollable evil, unforgiven sin, inconsolable pain, intense sorrow, and death, but also the competing reality of God’s abundant compassion and covenant love.
3:31-33. 31For the Lord will not cast off forever, 32but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.
The question is which of these realities will win in the end? Which will prevail? Evil or good? Death or love? God’s punishment or God’s mercy?
Before we answer, we must acknowledge that may never understand all of the reasons behind all of life’s pain. But here’s what we can know: God will prevail over evil. God’s great faithfulness, his steadfast love and compassion, and his new morning mercies will never come to an end. They are unstoppable. Today’s great terrors cannot prevent tomorrow’s great mercy from our God. God’s life will always have the last word over death. God’s love will always cast out fear. God’s grace will always forgive our sins. How can we know? Because, just as there is hope and mercy at the center of Lamentations, there is hope at the center of human history – the cross.
Before the cross, there was immense pain, suffering, sin, and death. And after the cross, there will continue to be the same. But at the crux of time stands Christ. Like Jeremiah, the Man of Sorrows walked into our evil with the power of his unfailing goodness. He carried the cross of death on the shoulders of his eternal life. He bore our judgment, shedding the blood of God’s forgiveness. Then on Easter morning he burst forth with new mercies. New life. New hope.
To live is Christ means that now this mercy, this life, this hope, lives in us. Christ’s life in us is the great faithfulness of God. Christ’s unceasing love is the mercy we receive afresh each day.
You: What are you lamenting today?
You in Christ: How can the great faithfulness of God in Christ bring you hope in the midst of evil?
Christ in you: How can you “call to mind” the faithfulness of Christ today? Where does your mindset need to change?
To Live is Christ 