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."

From the first line in this text from the book of Lamentations to its the final affirming statement, we can discover (and rediscover) the mercies of God which he promises will be new every morning. Opening with the initial statement of remembrance about recalling one's affliction, one's wandering with its bitterness and gall, we can certainly all relate to moments or even seasons of life when we felt this writer's discouragement and despair. Think about how simply pondering these difficult times can plunge our emotions and soul into a place that downcast. We have all been there.

But the writer doesn't end there does he? He shares his sorrow and his pain and then does a 180 and states... "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope..." This turnabout in focus tells us that he understand the importance of focusing on the faithfulness of God which always supersedes and overrides any and all of our personal suffering. He reminds himself and us that because of the Lord's great love we are not victims because God's compassions toward us will rescue us. Not only will God's compassion and care find us wherever we are, but his mercies are promised to be new every single morning. As the final amen to this brief passage of hope and help, he reminds himself that, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." It is interesting that this writer opens with a reflection on hard times then moves to putting the full weight of his trust in God and then closes with the definitive statement to wait for him to deliver, to rescue, to act.

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. Remembering our moments, our hours and days of suffering and hardship isn't necessarily a bad thing if we like the writer of this passage in Lamentations immediately turn our thoughts to the faithfulness of God. Everyone can recall seasons of hardship and struggle but we only get stuck in the painful past if we neglect to look upward toward God and purpose to remember how he delivered us from our troubles. It isn't enough to sit around reminiscing about hard times and leave off God's faithful work of compassion and mercies that he promised to deliver each and every morning. We need to learn to be good rememberers as God commanded the Israelites to be lest our hearts grow hardened against God and we begin to despair in the midst of our suffering. Ask yourself: How can remembering the hard times stir us to a deeper trust in God and his promised faithfulness?

I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. As this writer admits, his remembering the hard times, the challenges, and the suffering caused his soul to become downcast within him. What might we ask does a downcast soul look like? I like to think of the physical posture this verse suggests. A person who is downcast is slumped over, defeated within and without, and has his eyes on the floor. What is missing here? He hasn't yet decided to look upward toward God, his always faithful and merciful heavenly Father who promises deliverance. Ask yourself: Why is it so difficult to keep our eyes on God during the difficult times? What should be our default response during these seasons?

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. Now we get to the pivotal portion of these verses where the writer, despite his current suffering makes a choice to declare the Lord's goodness and his great love. As we learn to make gratefulness our default response in all situations, we too, can grow into believers who wisely choose to look to the Lord and focus on his love, faithfulness, and new morning mercies. This phrase, "calling to mind," is important because it implies that each of us must decide what and more importantly whom we will look to in times of distress. As this point, there is no indication that the writer's problems have resolved themselves. Quite the opposite. Here we have the perfect example of how we can learn to move from a place of inner despair to one of confidence and hope. Ask yourself: Do you understand the biblical mandate that Jesus gave his followers to take every thought captive? How does learning to think biblically equip us to face our daily trials?

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Here we read yet another declaration of God's faithfulness and goodness to his children. The writer now has his focus on the Lord and is confident he will supply all he needs to overcome whatever he is facing. Yet he adds a powerful reminder to himself as well as to us by stating that not only does God love him greatly and with great compassion but these evidences of God's love and mercy are new every morning. Note the declarative phrase, "new every morning." This promise assures us that every single morning we arise, we will see God's mercies in our lives. Ask yourself: When we wearily end a long, hard day how does knowing and looking forward to seeing God's new mercies each morning help you rest through the night? Having this promise from God should bring an inner rest and peace that even the most trying circumstances will not weaken.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Finally, this writer arrives full circle as he shares his emotional journey from a place of discouragement and despair to one of determined, yet joyful resolve to trust in the Lord. He reminds himself yet again that the Lord is his portion, therefore he will wait for him. Here we are told that his trials isn't yet over but he is now faithfully set on overcoming with the grace and the strength of the Lord. The place where the writer now stands is where God desires us all to move toward as we face our own suffering and sorrows in this life. Throughout this passage, we get an insider's view into how we can move from a place of weariness and discouragement to a restful, peaceful confident acceptance that God will move on our behalf in his time and in his own way for his glory and our good. Ask yourself: When we understand that the Lord is all we need in this life and we are confident in his promised provision for us, it becomes less of a struggle to commit our trials to him. How might we learn to wait well during these seasons of struggle and sorrow?