God’s love for us is steadfast even in times of loss and sorrow.
The thought of my affliction and my homelessness are wormwood and gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
One of the most beloved passages of Scripture proclaims, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Because these verses appear in the midst of a chapter full of sorrow and lamentation, we are reminded that God is faithful even when it doesn’t feel that way. God’s love for us is steadfast even in times of loss and sorrow.
Lamentations 3:22-23 have inspired many songs and hymns. For example, one of the earliest and most popular praise songs was based on this text: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end . . . .” Similarly, the classic hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” puts into poetry the assurances of Lamentations 3:22-23. The refrain of this hymn proclaims: “Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided – Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!”
“Great is Thy Faithfulness” is one of my favorite hymns. I’ve loved it since I was in my twenties. I’ve sung it on some of the happiest and hardest occasions of my life.
Ironically, when we sing songs like “The Steadfast Love of the Lord” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness” in the midst of loss and grief, we are in a similar position to the writer of Lamentations. He and his people had suffered and were suffering horribly. At one point, the writer had lost his hope in God. He wrote, “Gone is my glory, and all that I had hoped for from the LORD” (Lamentations 3:18). Yet, as he remembered the Lord, he found the ability to celebrate God’s love and compassion in some of the most prized words in all of Scripture.
Thus, Lamentations 3:22-23, when read in context, inspires us to confess God’s faithfulness, not only in times of blessing and joy but also in times of pain and sorrow. Like the writer of Lamentations, in the midst of our struggle we call to mind who God is and how much God cares for us.
This gives us hope even in the midst of what feels like hopelessness.
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