Lamentations 3:22. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
And so, Friday has opened bright and sunshiny, but somewhat chilly, not as warm as it ought to be at this time of spring. But that’s okay, we can handle anything that comes against us because of the Holy Spirit of Jesus that indwells us. It gives us the boldness, the confidence to declare: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’
And since it’s a day He has made, we shall therefore rejoice and be glad in it! So, please give our great God some thanks and praise for His wonderful works to us undeserving children of men. Let’s gratefully remember, as Jeremiah said in his Lamentations: ‘It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.’ (Lam. 3:22-23)
Oh my people, it is indeed because of the Lord’s compassion, His mercy and faithfulness that we are not totally destroyed. And He especially showed His great LOVE and compassion for us in this past Easter Season when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross so he could justly and righteously have reason to forgive our sins! No greater LOVE than that can ever be found!
And in explaining ‘faithfulness,’ the scholars tell us that: ‘The word root from which it comes stresses that real faith is more than inner belief, even more than whole-souled committal. It is a condition of the soul marked by such a stable character and an attitude of total trust that the believer’s whole life is imbued with consistent, responsible service to God (c.f. 1 Sam. 26:23; Ps. 37:3-6). From the biblical standpoint, true faith results in faithfulness in one’s life.’
Yes friends, just like God has been faithful throughout His long existence, so we His creation and joint-heirs with Christ need to be faithful in all walks of our lives. And I believe that shows up positively in Jeremiah’s life when he remembers how he was mistreated, locked up and derided for preaching God’s word, and though he tried to get rid of it, the fire of the word still burned in his belly. ‘And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord: Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness). My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled (bowed down) in me. This I recall to mind, therefore have I hope.’ (Lam. 3:18-21)
That’s when he talks about the Lord’s compassions and mercies that we’ve spoken of above. Yuh see, once you’ve been associated with our wonderful God, and seen His faithfulness, it’s difficult to lose faith in Him, even when you go through real tough times on His behalf. That hope He imbues within us just doesn’t die, because deep down, we know that He is Almighty God; omnipotent, omniscient and omni-present, to whom all things are possible, the One who can bring us through any untoward situation if He so chooses.
Sometimes though, unfortunately, He doesn’t choose to make us escape the difficulty, because He has some good reason for us experiencing it. But the wonderful thing about our God is that He will NEVER allow us to go through something alone; He is always beside us monitoring our progress through the particular situation and through life itself.
That’s why the psalmist could also confidently declare in Psalm 130. ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy (LOVING-kindness), and with him is plenteous (abundant) redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ (Ps. 130:5-8)
Wow! What hope, and trust in God the psalmist shows there! His soul is waiting more deeply for God, than those who are keeping watch for daybreak. And he says it twice, for us to know how deep His trust and faith are in the God of his forefathers! Now that’s the kind of faith that we modern day believers ought to be showing, especially in these contrary and oh so difficult times, which seem to mimic the beginning of the last days that Jesus spoke about.
‘Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ: and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers (various) places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows (birth pangs)…And the gospel must first be published among all nations.’ (Mark. 13:5-8, 10)
But Matthew is more explicit per that last verse. He recalls Jesus saying: ‘ And the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ (Matt. 24:14) And we are indeed seeing the beginnings of those sorrows for all that Jesus spoke about is currently happening, with wars and rumours of wars, famines in a world with wonderful farming skills and technology, deception everlasting, pestilence, sickness and natural disasters like we’ve never seen before.
And above all, with our wonderful technology the gospel has already been preached or proclaimed to most of the world, and it should not take very long to do as Jesus desires; proclaim it to ALL the world. But in the meantime, we the faithful, must remain faithful and true to His name, and do what He desires of us. And the first thing in our arsenal is always prayer, that awesome method of communication between us and our heavenly Father. So let’s go to Him in prayer right now nuh, through our Friday Chant, seeking His divine help in these rather difficult times.
As one strong, but humble voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 virus and our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the virus and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now that means cleaning up our act and having our hearts sincerely reflect what our mouths have just spoken. That is, if we want to receive a positive response from Almighty God! Much LOVE!
…commit thy way unto the Lord…trust also in him…and he shall bring it to pass… (Ps. 37:5)
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