I wanted to just take a moment to encourage you with one of my very favorite Scriptures – Lamentations 3:21-26.Lamentations 3:21-26 This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord. (NKJV)
I encourage you to place these verses in front of you at home, at work, in your car… wherever you are at. Just to read them brings instant refreshment and encourage.
- If you’re going through tough times, they lift your spirits immediately and give you a renewed sense of purpose and hope.
- If you’re in a time of failure, sinfulness or spiritual neglect, they give you the boost you need to step out and begin again, no matter how many times you have to start over. Every morning is a fresh chance to begin again. The Lord offers it.
- If you’re in a period of blessing and spiritual power, they remind you Who the source of that blessing is.
Notice though that it takes an active effort on your part… “this I recall to mind”; you have to think on these things by choice, it doesn’t just happen magically. You make a willful determination to trade your current thoughts for these thoughts which brings a blessing in and of itself… you get your mind off yourself and on to God! That one step alone will get you through most of life’s difficulties!
Follow the great hope-giving progression…
- The Lord’s mercies keep us from being consumed with guilt, sadness, discouragement or pain.
- His compassions FAIL NOT. No ambiguity here. They FAIL NOT. Period. God is always compassionate. Compassion is the most frequent emotion displayed by Jesus in the Gospels.
- They are new every morning. EVERY MORNING. Not some mornings. Not mornings given certain conditions. Even on those mornings when you have failed God again and again and again. Every morning His mercy is new. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE ENCOURAGEMENT! We can start over every morning!
- Great is God’s faithfulness. GREAT… not adequate, or average, or occasional, or good… GREAT! God is always faithful! You can count on Him!
- The Lord is your portion. Not your bank account, or work, or friends, or security, or anything else. The LORD is what gets you through. It’s like saying “food is what I eat”. You don’t look to anything thing else to nourish you or satisfy your physical hunger. “Food is your portion” for physical survival. The Lord is our spiritual food, our portion for spiritual survival.
Because of all these facts, we have hope in Him! Who else could be all of this, do all of this, offer all of this? The Lord is our hope, our reason, our purpose!
Again, there is action and choice involved in enjoying these blessings. You have to wait on God, spend time with Him. You have to seek Him. You have to wait in quiet expectation of the blessings. These are not welfare handouts, they are blessed gifts given to God’s children who come in child-like faith and trust asking their Heavenly Father for them.
These verses have given me so much hope and encouragement. So many times when I have failed the Lord over and over, these verses get me past the self pity and guilt. When life’s burdens and pain have threatened to discourage me, these verses lift my spirits. Every time I receive God’s blessing these verses remind Who and Why those blessings come!
I pray that you will spend time alone with God this week thanking Him for His new mercies and compassion that are available every morning. May the Lord bless you with every spiritual blessing and may you be available and willing to fulfill what God has had planned for from eternity past.