Great Is His Faithfulness

I was just browsing through my Facebook page and came across a post requesting most meaningful and inspiring passages from the Bible to be read when someone I hold in high regard travels to Israel in the near future.  How can one choose, one most meaning and inspiring passage?  That is a tough assignment, at least for me.  I thought of many, and the one that I kept coming back to me is Lamentations 3:22-24.


Lamentations, an Old Testament book, was written during the years Judah was in exile in Babylon.  It  shares the torment of the Jews, having been ripped from their homeland and separated from the temple which had been destroyed, because of their rebelliousness and many sins.

Fast forward a few thousand years, and those verses resonate even today.


         22      Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
         23      They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
         24      I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

The Holy Bible: New International Version.

 I often feel as if I am exiled in a strange land, out of touch with the culture and mindsets that currently prevail, and especially alienated by the divisiveness of my own country.  (Of course, some may still argue in this the 21st century, that I, and people like me, have no right to be here in the first place; but that is for another day.)  Just a minor example:  someone else posted a picture of a very large woman wearing a top that sported so many horizontal back straps that I saw more flesh than fabric, and shorts cut so high that they were more like denim panties than shorts, revealing more than 50% of her buttocks.  And that was a lot of flesh.  While I don't consider myself a prude (at least not the last time I checked), the need for anyone, male or female, to display her (or his) body in that fashion, and the need for someone else to share a picture of that to the rest of the world, are both beyond my sensibilities.  We celebrate and glorify the ridiculous and outlandish, and scoff at just about anything of redeeming value.  And, unfortunately, who constitutes the "We" includes people who profess to believe in the One who is The Word . .  and The Way.  That, indeed, is scary.  

Am I saying that I am perfect and am sitting in judgment on the rest of the world?  Absolutely not!  I cannot help but think, however, that some of the We forge ahead with frolicking, funky fashions and frivolities without considering the long-term effects or broader implications.  Those pictures are all over the place and will come back to haunt someone . . . someday.   I'm just saying . . .  

Just one more "for instance" -- just one more:  My daughter and I discussed the recent Time magazine cover featuring a young boy at his mother's breast.  Are we against breast feeding?  Absolutely not!  We merely discussed the long-term effects that kind of exposure will have on the boy as he gets older:  "Dear mom of the little boy:  what will your son be confronted with in the future because of that cover?   Was it worth it?"

Now, back to Lamentations.  This passage is also the basis of one of my favorite, favorite songs:

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

there is no shadow of turning with thee;

thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;

as thou hast been thou forever will be.

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!

Words: Thomas O. Chisholm

So what is the big deal?  

The big deal is this:  Things can look pretty, pretty bad sometimes.  Trust me on that, 'tis very true.  Yet, things can also be a lot worse than what they are.  And, take it from someone who awakens some mornings and has no clue about the course of her day:  all that I have ever needed, He has provided.  All that you will ever need, He will provide.  Today was a day like that.  As far as I knew, I had three things on my "to-do" list, none of which constituted billable activities:  1) scan documents for my archives; 2) assist my nonagenarian mother, The Boss, at the polls; 3) look in on my Sweet Pea who has an internship with a District Judge.  Yet, while parking my car in the most unlikely spot that was just be vacated as I turned a corner, a woman in a wheelchair stopped and asked me if I would talk to her about Medicare.  Out of nowhere, after agonizing over 1) having to dress (I don't care what folks say, when one enters a courtroom, proper attire should not be optional.  Hint -- hint to you trendy lawyers and social workers who look as if you're going out to party hard) in a suit, and 2) driving across town to help The Boss, I gave up my resistance to honor my commitments to the two most important women in my life.  And still, He was looking out for me.

He is always keeping me, cheering me, ever guiding me. He is always with me -- even when things look pretty, pretty bad.   So, how about you?  If He gave you another day, it is not too late to turn to Him, and you will find that He has been, is now, and will be faithful.