TODAY’S SCRIPTURE Lamentations 3:1-26
Summertime is the time for wedding bells. As I look at this summer, my plans are woven around six different weddings. (I can almost hear the sounds from your home: “Ahhhhs” from the wives, “Ughs” from the husbands, and “Cake!” from the kids). Seriously, I do enjoy the celebration of this joyous occasion. In recent years, I have especially grown fond of the various musical selections that vary from silly to sweet, but my favorite has to be the exit march to the refrain “This Will Be an Everlasting Love.”
As God’s love is spoken of throughout the Old Testament, there is a resounding refrain: steadfastness…unfailing…never-ending…everlasting love. Where the world’s view of love ebbs and flows, God assures us that His love is steadfast.
It’s easy to say, “This will be an everlasting love” on a wedding day, but what about when the hard times come? Jeremiah experiences the difficulty of love in hard times during Israel’s time of exile in Babylon. Misery and punishment have been the result of Israel’s indifference and disobedience, but in the midst of such moments Jeremiah speaks the words of Lamentations 3:21-23. “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. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’”
Our anchor is not cast in a love that is transient and unreliable. “His love never fails. It never gives up. It never runs out on me.” This is a love that will last and outlast all of life’s trials and fleeting fads. God says His love was, and is, and “will be an everlasting love.”
Today, I will…evaluate the deepest trusts and loves of my heart. Have I drawn too much value from loves that don’t last? As I reflect on God’s steadfast love, I pray that I will draw closer to Him and that my love for Him might reflect His love for me. Lord, never let me be led away by a love that is less than Your everlasting love.
