THE LORD IS MY PORTION
- Olufunmilayo Adekusibe
- 8 hours ago
- 7 min read
Today’s Reading:
Lam. 3:19-26
Jeremiah 52:12-30
Revelation 2:12-29
“Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers and sinks within me. This I recall to my mind; Therefore, I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not, They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion”, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentation 3:19-26 NKJV)
During the period of Lamentation, Assyria had ceased to be a dominant world power. Babylon and Egypt were in a power struggle for control. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, had utterly destroyed Judah, including the city of Jerusalem and the temple, in 586 B.C. The author seeks to thoroughly examine the causes, responsibilities, and potential future causes of the fall of Jerusalem. He cannot reconcile the calamity that has befallen the great city with a holy and covenant-keeping God. “How does one maintain faith in God in the midst of great calamity?” The author’s concern is both personal and universal, as with all genuine believers today. Lamentation is a lament for what had been lost – the temple and the throne were gone. The destruction marked the end of the Davidic kingdom, which God had promised would have no end (2 Sam. 7:16). But then, in the midst of rebellion against God, God had other plans to fulfil His word. For God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. The author laments the demise and the fate of those left behind. He also acknowledges the sin of the people and the justice of God’s judgment.
Chapter 3 talks about the spiritual and physical affliction God allowed Jeremiah to experience to strengthen his resolve to serve, put his trust in God, and serve as an example to all those who would trust in Him. “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. 2) He has led me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. 3) Surely, He has turned His hand against me time and time again throughout the day. …The wormwood and the gall (v. 19b). Wormwood is a bitter plant. Gall, a bitter secretion from the liver. They both portray the sorrowful and painful experience of Jeremiah. Remember my affliction and roaming, (v. 19a). Plunged into the depths of despair, he mourns. This is a crucial statement, a pointer that Jeremiah had reached the peak of despair. His first remembrance traps him in distress and defeat. But he also remembers the Lord (vv. 21-22). This remembrance gave him the power to change his thought, that he must not give up the fight. And so, it gives him hope to believe that everything is not lost. “This I recall to my mind; therefore, I have hope.” When we are in a state of despair, nothing is heavier than raising our heads in our struggles. To be able to lift up our head unto God requires effort and boldness. Yet such lifting is what we need in such a state. He voluntarily makes an affirmation about his faith and acts with resolution and determination. He looked beyond the present situation and focused his thoughts on God, whose goodness and compassion have never failed (v. 22; Ps. 121). Moreover, they are new every morning (v. 23). Remembering God’s faithfulness, mercies, and steadfast love in covenant and loyalty in the past marked a turning point. We all, at one time or another other must have experienced discouragement and even depression. It is at times like this, we should cling tight to God, rely on His promises and faithfulness to regain strength to forge ahead without falling.
On the part of God, His faithfulness is a commitment, and is as dependable as the scheduled appearances of the sun and moon (Ps. 89:2, 5, 16, 37). His faithfulness is always renewed, and he daily loads us with benefits. This is everything, including His enablement, mercies and blessings. Close relatives, friends and associates may disappoint, kings and those in authority may fail to live up to expectations, but God has never failed. And the more Jeremiah thinks about this, the more he realises that this is his real treasure, more precious than the riches of the temple and the holy cities he loves. Then he decides, I will wait for him (v. 24), and reminds himself it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord (v. 26). Confidence in the Lord helps us to accept what comes in good faith. Accepting is not fatalism, but that God can deliver us in his own time and way. Caution – Be Still! Having reconciled his own sorrow in the previous verses, Jeremiah’s assignment was to speak on the faithfulness of God and why He must be trusted. He turned his attention outward to the people, and preached to the people of Judah, and his message is focused on accepting what we cannot change, what God allows, without any complaint and hope in His mercies.
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not.” (v. 22). Jeremiah saw a ray of hope in all the sin and sorrow surrounding him. When we pray, God by His gracious mercy responds with help, which gives hope. Are you reading this and nursing a false thought that God would not answer your prayer because of a particular sin in your life, which He will not forgive? Know that God’s steadfast love and mercy are greater than any sin committed. And he promised forgiveness if we repent. Jeremiah knew about God’s faithfulness from his personal experience with God. God meant this when he promised that the sin of disobedience would be punished, and he fulfilled that promise. God had also promised future restoration and blessing. Jeremiah knew God would fulfil that promise too. Daily trusting in God’s faithfulness gives us much confidence to hope in His promise. Jeremiah, whose soul is bowed down with affliction, fixed his mind on his challenges and the problems of his people, and later resolved to change his focus to things of God that will give him hope and good expectation. This pulled him out of the pit of despair, that is, the goodness and loving kindness of God, His compassion and his faithfulness.
Lessons Learned:
In despair, do not panic, be still and place your hope in the Lord.
Focusing on the Lord will enable you to think on his past mercies and then start giving thanks to His holy name.
Focusing too much on your problems will open doors to the enemy to afflict, and this will complicate matters and sink you further into depression.
In panic, you run helter-skelter to places in a bid to find a solution where there is none, and thereby carry burdens which will worsen your problems.
Thoughts about the goodness, mercy, kindness, and faithfulness of God give hope, and you can see and experience the beautiful and wonderful things God is doing.
Accept what you cannot change without complaining, and look forward in obedience to the mercy and compassion of God.
In whatever situation, appreciate the goodness of God in your life and around you. (Ps. 46)
Wisely give mercy today, because the amount of mercy and loving-kindness given will be required tomorrow.
There is no gift with the devil and his cohorts. They give fake solutions that will rob you of the joy and goodness of the Lord.
OLUFUNMILAYO TITILOLA ADEKUSIBE
To surrender your life to Christ, say this prayer aloud. “Father, I acknowledge my sin against You. I repent and ask for forgiveness, in the name of Jesus. I surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, take control of my heart and lead me in Your path of righteousness. Thank you, Lord.”
If you said the prayer, Congratulations! You are welcome to the body of Christ. Prayerfully look for a living church and meet the resident reverend, pastor or priest.
Prayer:
Have mercy upon me, O God. According to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Lord, You are my hiding place; preserve me from trouble, and surround me with songs of deliverance, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, instruct and teach me the way I should go; and let your eye guide me wherever I go, in Jesus’ name.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with Your generous Spirit. Empower me to teach transgressors Your ways, so that sinners may be converted unto You, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, I trust in You, let Your mercy surround me. Let me be glad and rejoice in You and give me cause to always shout for joy, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, rescue the perishing, care for the dying. Take away captives of the Mighty and deliver the prey of the Terrible, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, in the power of the Holy Spirit, walk in the midst of children from primary to higher institutions, do what only you can do; destroy the power of evil control, manipulations, evil peer pressure and evil soul ties, in Jesus’ name.
Lord, restore Your Church to its original state and make it function to the glory of Your name.
Thou that dwellest amongst the cherubim, shine forth upon the nations of the world, especially our nation, Nigeria. Guide our political leaders from the Federal to the State to the local government, rulers, and those in places of authority. Stir up Your strength and come and save us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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