The
Rod Of The Lord’s Wrath
I
am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
He
has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light;
indeed,
he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
He
has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones.
He
has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.
He
has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
Lamentations 3:1-6
He
has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust.
I
have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So
I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”
I
remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.
I
well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet
this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love
we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They
are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I
say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
The
Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;
Lamentations 3:16-25
The
book of Lamentations records Jeremiah’s anguish over the nation of Judah’s
stubborn refusal to follow God. Often called the “weeping prophet,” he
witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem and saw his people carried into
captivity. He wandered the streets of the city, overwhelmed by grief.
Yet,
In Jeremiah’s darkest hour, he said, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I
have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His
compassion fail not. They are new every morning: great is Your
faithfulness.”
The anchor of God’s faithfulness holds firm in the
strongest storms.
Our
Daily Bread – November 14, 2014