Lamentations 3:19-25 "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." 

Here we get a glimpse of Jeremiah's perspective concerning the redemptive nature of God. Verses 19 and 20 give us a picture of how life was for him as he watched the world around him crumble as a result of their refusal to turn to God. Jeremiah was a true prophet who in his time was very much alone. He had a scribe writing down his prophesies but most of the rest of those around him were scared to associate with him because he was faithfully and courageously declaring God's word in the midst of those who did not want to receive it. Even the "known" prophets of his day were bent on speaking the "popular" prophesies rather than the true word of God. Yet Jeremiah also recalls that God's mercy and compassion were fresh and new for him in the middle of it all.

Salvation doesn't remove us from the world or the troubles that we can bring with us into our new life with Christ; it doesn't necessarily exclude us from reaping what we have sown. Scripture is clear in the book of Galatians where it says "be not deceived God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that also shall he reap." In other words, God doesn't always eradicate the consequences of the life that we've lived just because we've decided to change and become born again (at least not always or right away). While I have seen, heard of, and experienced for myself God's alleviation of the severity of consequences through his mercy, this is not always the case. Salvation is about eternal life first and improved quality of our temporal life comes as an added benefit. But we can be assured that in the same fashion, the godliness that we sow after conversion will reap a harvest of God's favor and blessing!

Jeremiah's trials were not any result of sowing and reaping from his past. He was facing something much more confusing and difficult to stand through. He was facing the persecution that comes from prophesying to and audience that did not want to receive. But even worse for him was the added resistance from older and more seasoned prophets who had mastered the art of playing the field mixed with politics and religion. These prophets were using the words "thus says the Lord" to sway the masses and to influence the political leaders to their advantage. Jeremiah was courageous enough to listen for God's true voice and declare God's word even when it did not agree with the greater population. He faced severe persecution from both the religious leaders of his time and the king's court. Yet, in the midst of this he discovered God's mercy and compassion in ways many never will know!

God does give us such a great new life as we strengthen and endeavor to deepen our relationship with Him that the old life appears as bitterness and gall. Jeremiah accessed the kind of hope that can only come once we experience the mercy and compassion of our God. He goes on to say that through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, and His compassions are new every morning. For some reason this brings to mind the Lord's Prayer where Jesus says to ask the Lord to give us each day our daily bread. Also, it brings to remembrance the children of Israel as they wandered through the desert, how each morning the Lord provided fresh manna for them, for that one day.

"The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore, I hope in him." This quote from verse 24 implies that whatever the Lord sees fit to impart into our lives is good enough. I have to ask, can I be satisfied with the portion that the Lord has blessed me with, is it enough? Was the freedom, forgiveness and newness of life purchased for me through the cross and resurrection enough?

The implication here is that as we seek the Lord each day, we find Him each day and this discipline adds to the quality of our overall lives. The Christian salvation is an endeavor to grow closer to God each day of our lives. Can I really know God as intimately as he wants me to if I limit my relationship with Him to a Sunday morning experience? Every day that we are saved is a day better than living in the world! Yes, we live in the world but Christ says we are no longer of this world, so I'm referring to living as a child of the King versus living as a slave to a worldly lifestyle.

God's faithfulness is amazing! Verse 23 states "great is your faithfulness!" This is an awesome statement because it implies that regardless of what we do, God remains faithful to us. Even though we don't always see what He's doing or how He is working through our lives or in our lives. God is faithfully and patiently building and working leading us closer to Himself. Even when we stray, his strategies are at work leading us back onto His path of righteousness and truth. 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.