In my quiet time, I found myself in Lamentations, a very sorrowful book if you haven't given it a read. I was reading the third chapter, which, although it is one of my favorite passages, I had read it so many times that I thought I couldn't possibly derive any more from it. But everything that I had ever found to be sweet in this chapter before, returned again, this time almost sweeter. The whole first bit of the chapter is, to put it bluntly, depressing. The author writes of despair, hopelessness, a sense of distance from God, even comparing God to a hunter who is determined to take him out. But then, the author recalls God's faithfulness. He recalls God's steadfast love. He remembers that God's mercies never come to an end. And this should be so encouraging, especially to those who are going through a time when they have no idea what God's up to. Because we don't need to know. All we need to remember is that God is faithful and that whatever He's doing right now, He's doing it because He loves us and wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. At the same time, I hope you understand that I'm not trying to encourage a "sit-back-and-watch" mentality where we do simply just that and hope that God takes care of us. Does that make sense? Anyway, I think one of the most beautiful parts is verses 55-57. God is so loving and gentle to say to His children, "Do not fear!" And yet this same God is holy, almighty, and terrifying. That's one of the things that you will see in the Bible; fear and love, severity and kindness, lamentation and hope.
Romans 11:22
--Rye Bread
