The LORD Is All I Have,

And So In Him I Put My Hope

I am one who knows what it is to be punished by God. He drove me deeper and deeper into darkness and beat me again and again with merciless blows.

He has left my flesh open and raw and has broken by bones. He has shut me in a prison of misery and anguish. He has forced me to live in the stagnant darkness of death.

He has bound me in chains; I am a prisoner with no hope of escape. I cry aloud for help, but God refuses to listen; I stagger as I walk; stone walls block me wherever I turn.

The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.

Lamentations 3:1-9; 24

The citizens of Judah had been taken into captivity. Jerusalem was in ruins. The people were destitute. The prophet Jeremiah wept continually. Jeremiah affirmed the mercies, the faithfulness of God. We come to understand that weeping and lamenting do not necessarily reflect a weak faith or a lack of trust in God. Some of us may think that a Christian must feel joyful even when the heart is breaking – or at least try to appear that way. That’s not real life. Tears are a natural part of a Christian’s life. But thank God, one day in Glory our blessed Savior will wipe them all away.

The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.

Our Daily Bread – September 2, 2003