March 6, 2006
Lamentations 3:21-26
Chris McCabe, Freedom Church (Concord)
Read the passage and respond to these questions:
1. The prophet Jeremiah is suffering with “the daughter of Zion” (Israel) the wrath of God’s judgment. How does this passage fit into the broader context?
2. What kind of “waiting” is Jeremiah referring to in verse 25?
3. What is your greatest challenge in waiting “quietly” for the Lord?
I remember a family vacation to the Grand Canyon when I was a very young child. What I remember of the experience is that it wasn’t very memorable. I was bored. I was bored even at the points that I was supposed to be most amazed.
Looking over the rail of the canyon, I remember those much older and much more mature than I being overwhelmed by what they observed. I didn’t get it. I knew I was supposed to be impressed with my surroundings. I knew we had driven a long way to get to this place, and the whole point of this trip was to stand where I was standing. My parents told me that God created this great wonder and that it was a testimony to His greatness, but I couldn’t grasp what it was I was seeing. The experience left me unchanged, because I didn’t know how to let the experience change me.
If I visited the Grand Canyon again as an adult, I would most likely have a completely different reaction. I’m sure I would sense God’s glory and fear His greatness when seeing its vastness. As a child, the problem wasn’t with my surroundings, the problem was with me. I was ill-equipped, ignorant really, to be able to process and to properly take in what it was I was experiencing.
I would like to say that I’ve outgrown this, that the years have given me a greater appreciation for the Divine –that I am no longer so naïve. I would like to say that I am mature and intellectual and possess great understanding of those things I formerly did not understand. But, the sad truth is, I live my life every day like I’m still four years old. I’m completely numb to the greatness of God. It’s not that I haven’t been there or done that.
I have seen God, yet His mystery leaves me baffled, so I don’t take time to process His greatness. I interact with amazing men and women, but I pass them off as ordinary or unimportant because I constantly think about me and how to make my life easier. I interact with His creation, His Word, His church . . . often with the same result: the inability to see His daily work in my life.
Can you identify? Do you forget that God is still at work? The same God that gave us the Grand Canyon wishes to work and move in your life today. His mercies, His faithfulness, His love – all listed in this passage, never end, never fail, and are continually new and fresh and awe-inspiring each day we open our eyes and get out of bed.
prayer
Jesus, open my eyes to see your glory as I stand on the cliff of your mystery and greatness. Open my eyes to a fresh movement of You in my life today.