Bible Pathway - August 31
Read Lamentations 3 – 5
Highlights:
There is always hope in God (3:21-23)! Wait, but seek Him (3:25-26), He hears (3:55-57)! He's our inheritance (3:24); lawyer (3:58); and judge (3:59). The same forever (5:19). Discipline is involved in worship (3:27). Why did this happen (4:13)? God's anger satisfied (4:11); His unfailing love sets us free (5:21-22).
The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him (Lamentations 3:24-25).
Through all the pain, suffering and sorrow that Jeremiah and the Children of Israel endured, Jeremiah still put his faith in the Almighty Lord. No matter how long God's wrath lasted, Jeremiah lived by faith that God was just and fair in all things. He knew in his heart (saith my soul) who God was. Therefore, he put his hope in Him. He may not have understood in his mind why the suffering and anguish was prolonged, but he held no doubt in his Creator.
Living by faith is not an easy thing to do when we don't understand why something is happening to us. When these types of events are happening in our lives, we need to remember that God has His reasons why they are happening. Even though we may never know what those reasons are, the times that He does reveal His work in our lives should give us the hope and strength to carry us through those times when he does not. For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).
This world is filled with evil. We contend with it every day in the flesh, and must also remember that it is always from Satan. His demons are waiting to catch us when we are vulnerable. Disease, hunger, neglect, mental illness, pride, anger, jealousy and the like surround us at every turn. For, we live in a fallen world that is destined for ultimate destruction. Yet, there is hope in the Living God who sent His one and only Son to die that we may live eternally with Him.
In Jesus, we find agape love greater than any love we have ever known or heard of. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love (1 John 4:7-8). Thus, as children of the King, we know this love and are called to show this same love to all in this fallen world. Jesus shines His light of love and redemption in the darkness of this cruel world every day through us, His children, as we embrace Him and His plan for us.
Who are we in the face of cancer? Who are we when confronted by a jealous spouse? Who are we when temptation takes us to our knees? We are the ones shining the light of Jesus in the darkness, planting seeds of hope and praying that God will water those seeds and open blind eyes to His love and redemption; praying that He will heal the sick, and that He will deliver us from temptation. We are strong. We are bold. We are sons and daughters of the One who died for us and who desires that none should perish. And when we fall, our Savior is waiting to catch us and dust us off and set us back on His solid rock, ready to face a harder challenge in life ahead, straight and steady on His path.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the LORD, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the LORD (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Thought for Today:
God's Word reveals the path to life and liberty in Christ Jesus.
Christ Revealed:
As the merciful Savior (Lam. 3:22). Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life (Jude 1:21).
Word Studies:
3:5 builded against, besieged; 3:9 inclosed, blocked; 3:14 a derision, a laughingstock; 3:15 wormwood, bitterness; 3:29 putteth his mouth in the dust, speaks humbly; 4:10 sodden, boiled.
Prayer Suggestion: Your prayer should always be to please the Lord (Ps. 73:25).
Optional Reading: Revelation 5
Memory Verse for the Week: Psalms 90:12
