Lamentations 3:19-26 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; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
The author of Lamentations, who is believed to be the prophet Jeremiah, had experienced many hardships and witnessed horrors as the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and sent the people of Judah into exile. He laments his feelings of being broken and suffering what seems to be impossible to survive. He had done his part but people did not listen, and God’s wrath finally came. The descriptions in Lamentations are hard to read, and the tears are understandable because we all have suffered some events and situations that seemed like God was angry with us.
But, as we start a new year, the text reminds us that despite the pain and suffering, the author knew that God was still loving and faithful because there was still hope. A remnant of people existed in Zion, and the promise was that the exile would only last 70 years, and then a time of renewal, restoration, and redemption would come. The author, in his hope in the time of chaos, understood and appreciated the faithfulness of God and the truth of God’s promises. He knew that God’s love was eternal, and his compassion never failed or stopped. So, he chose to wait in faith for the salvation of the Lord that he knew would be forthcoming.
As we enter the new year of 2024, let us look forward in hope and faith to the 366 days of new and tender mercies. There will be 366 opportunities for love, laughter, healing, joy, and peace, even in the midst of all the horrors around us, such as war and an election year that could destroy the sense of we-ness in America. Let’s be still and know that He is God and that nothing has ever been impossible for the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God, and for His Son, Jesus Christ, because of His Spirit that lives in us. Be faithful in loving God with all of your being and in loving your neighbor in the same ways you love yourself.
And if loving yourself has been hard, making knowing how to love others equally hard, then repeat the words of John 3:16, substituting your name for “the world”: For God so loved Regina (that’s me), that He gave His only Son.” Love yourself as God loves you. God made you, and He sees your potential and He accepts you as you are, warts, faults, bad habits, and sins. Then, do the same for your neighbors with a love that is eternal and faithful. Despite the bad in the world, we will keep our hope alive to see the salvation of the Lord in the land of the living.
Amen. Happy New Year to everyone. May 2024 be the best year yet for you, but not the best to come!
Help from Heaven 
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