Read Lamentations 1:1 through 5:22
A news program that aired an episode entirely of good news would shock its viewers, and probably be unrealistic. From life experience, we know that people daily suffer loss, distrust, and discord. Human need is like soil that cannot be fully hydrated. There is always more parched ground. Since everyday struggles are ongoing and universal, people may be tempted to think that life is hopeless.
Hope certainly seems foreign to the aftermath of Jerusalem’s destruction and the Babylonian captivity of the Israelites. Although Jeremiah witnessed this calamity and knows that more pain awaits for his people, he voiced words of hope in God’s mercy, faithfulness, compassion, and goodness (Lamentations 3:22–24).
Yes, human need is ongoing, but God’s faithfulness is forever. People suffer, but God is compassionate toward their suffering, and though the suffering may be due to sinful failure, His compassion never fails. The water of hope available to all is God’s faithful goodness. It is the rain that unceasingly nourishes the parched ground of human need.
Thought for Today:
God’s unfailing compassion is available for every need.
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