Today's Reading:

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For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.  For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.
Lamentations 3:31-33

I really wanted to choose the entire chapter 3 of Lamentations as the reading. Instead, I will incorporate my favorite parts into the summation. In the middle of sorrow, there was Grace from God. The writer of Lamentations (possibly Jeremiah) remembered this: “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions will never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-25). It is hard to read that last sentence and not sing it at the same time in my head.

Yet, the real weight of grace comes in the words: “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone” (Lamentations 3:31-33). God may allow pain, but He does not delight in it. His heart is still moved by compassion, and His mercies keep coming with every sunrise. Even when He needs to discipline because it is necessary, it is never His first or last desire. His deeper want is always to restore and to heal. He allows sorrow, but He also refuses to leave us in it.

​When have you received grief or discipline, and how did God remind you of His reluctant heart to afflict and His eager heart to restore? How did that change the way you walked through it?

Ezekiel received visions of God’s glory and was called to confront the rebellious people. He acted out the signs and warnings and spoke against the false prophets. Then, chapter 16 gave the image of the adulterous woman as an unfaithful wife. God’s judgment was unavoidable, yet the covenant still stands, because God always has the final word.
 

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