The Faith Of Faithfulness
Then I thought, “My future is lost,
as well as my hope from the Lord.”19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness,
the wormwood and the poison.
20 I continually remember them
and have become depressed.
21 Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for his mercies never end.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!
24 I say, “The Lord is my portion,
therefore I will put my hope in him.”25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the person who seeks him.
26 It is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
Lamentations 3:18–26
This is the Word of the Lord. Sanctify us, O Lord, by Thy Truth. Thy Word is Truth. Amen. Christ Is Risen!
Sometimes, though…we just cannot see…this…see Him…
Right? These times… in our lives… in life… we cannot see any good, any hope…anything…for the future. We cannot hold up, as Jeremiah states.
18 Then I thought, “My future is lost, as well as my hope from the Lord.” 19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. 20 I continually remember them and have become depressed.
Not even hope in the Lord.
Is this faithlessness? Well, if it is, we are accusing Jesus about being so…as this is more about Him than about Jeremiah.
Huh? Didn’t you know that Jesus did not cheat when He went through all that He went through for us?
This is how He felt: why…why, O Lord, have you abandoned me?
Didn’t you know that we… that…
We were not designed…we were not meant to endure such things…and so when we do…
What? Nothing…blackness…
Yet, somehow, we get used to a little of it…and then a little more…and some more… all our lives…
We may blame. We may ask why, too, but it is not from experiencing for the first time God’s abandonment.
No, we feel the guilt…we feel the shame…we KNOW why He ought to…have left us….
For us it is:
Why can’t I go on sinning, and God be okay with that?
Why do I have to change?
Why can’t I … and I feel no guilt?
Why can’t I not be ashamed?
Why did you make me this way God?
Why did You have to have so many rules…that I cannot seem to ever want to do?
That is a whole other thing than what Jesus was expressing from the Cross. For Him it was a first. But I did no wrong, His body cried out! But I said nothing contrary…ever…to Your Word, O Father! I never stopped loving you and them with my whole heart!
So…why…? O…yeah…them….
I carry their guilt and shame. Their sin I took up here with me to die for them…as if they were here…so that they would not have to be here…
Father, forgive them.
But still the blackness…still the blindness…still the utter empty despair…
What of faith? Well, that is just it…
Faith is not about how we feel. It is not about how our bodies are doing. It is not about how well we can hold on.
Faith is not based on us at all. Thank God!
Faith is based on TRUTH. God’s Words and His ACTIONS. Not ours.
And all of this stands away from us…and all that is going on in and around us. It is from the outside, based on things…facts…outside of even this universe…
But TRUTH in and about this universe. That God has made. That God has made happen.
And His TRUTH says that even if we feel like He has left, He has not. Even if it is dark, the light of His Word still illumines the universe.
And His promise is that the other comforter will come…and bring to remembrance the eternal promises of God. That are TRUE always.
So, we can say with the weeping prophet of despair himself, Jeremiah:
21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”
We can say those Words because we have been CAUSED to hear them and believe them. That is how it is done. That is what inspiration does.
This is the miracle of real faith. It is based on His doing in us through His Word and this, His Word, It brings about more faith…and the strengthening of faith. In Him. Not is us. Not is our ability to get out of a situation…
Or to withstand pain and suffering. Or to have the right attitude in tribulation. It brings about these things in us, but does not come because we do them. Faith is the cause of them, not the other way around. It is by Grace alone…and it is sufficient for us…for this life…and all that comes in it…
No, it is not a reward. It is a gift. It is a mercy, even where and when we have nothing else to cling by…or strength to hope in.
No, it brings these. And His Spirit that rides the wings of the Wind, in the Words of His mouth–from these comes all these gifts pouring down upon us with each sunrise.
Faithfully…as He alone is truly faithful.
24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”
Yes, for however long it takes. Whether we can feel good about it or not. Whether we can see it or not. Whether we die or not.
Because despite all that is out there…all that darkness…or in here…in us…or all that seeks our doom…that which does not want us to have or to be…
His Words of Promise still stand. This is His portion given to us. Him. The Word made flesh…poured over us, and into us…by Word and Sacrament.
So what do we do? What is it that we are to do while we wait…in the meantime? Whatever it is that He has placed in front of you to do. Work. Play. Eat. Sleep…as much as you can…or…
And yes, we will fail. We will weep…and worry…and pace.
Yes, there will be those things too–sin in the mix. Aside from whatever else…we will doubt and mistrust…
But… King David, who knew all this all too well…
Says in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the Righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”
Righteous? Us? After what I thought, and said under my breath while feeling all that anger towards God for putting me in this life…in this mess…?
Yes, again…it is not about us and our faithfulness or righteousness, but about His. And He gives us His.
So from and because of that gift of faith, even though Jeremiah was feeling what we feel…and doing what we do…he can say…and we can say with David and Jeremiah:
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him.
Part of the very reason we go through these things are so that we despair of other things. That we give up relying on ourselves and others…and other things to help, save, and comfort us. He wants to BE those things.
So when He shows us that they do fail. That they are not strong. That people are fickle and not very reliable…just like us.
Then when we have to give up. When we have cried ourselves to sleep. When we have quieted down…
Then…we will see how: . 26 It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
Because He is always faithful. Because all has already been accomplished…for our sure salvation. It is finished. He has done it. It is as sure as the morning and the sun rising. Because:
Christ is Risen! Amen.
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