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Lamentations (Part Three) on Tue 14 Jul 2009, 12:38 am
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Number of posts: 364
Age: 58
Location: United Kingdom
Profession: Church of Scotland Minister
Marital Status: Married
Registration date: 2007-10-22
Points: 3951
Reputation: 1
Country:
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In the Lord’s presence, we become convinced of God’s faithfulness. He has not
forgotten us, and he will not forget us. He has not forsaken us, and he
will not forsake us. In our prayer for restoration and renewal, we bring our
circumstances and feelings to God, refusing to be overwhelmed by them.
We pray with urgency, conscious of our great need of restoration and
renewal. Prisoners of circumstances and feelings, we pray ― with faith ― that the chains will start falling and the changes will start happening. In prayer, we look back ― with thanksgiving ― to past blessings, and we look forward ― in hope ― to future blessing. We remember what God has done in ‘days ... of old’, and our faith grows ― God reigns for ever and his throne endures to all generations. Strengthened in faith, we pray, ‘Renew our days as of old!’ The restoration and renewal for which we must pray is the restoration of our walk with God ― 'He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake’ (Psalm 23:3) ― and the renewal of our witness for God ― ‘Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee?’ (Psalm 85:6). Walking with God
and witnessing for God, we are sustained by the joy of the Lord. In this Book with such an unpromising name ― ‘Lamentations’ ― the joy of the Lord comes shining
through. Looking beyond our circumstances to the Lord, we are able, with joy, to affirm our faith: ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end’ (3:22). The steadfast love of the Lord may also be described as his faithful love.His love is love, unchanged, unchanging and unchangeable. Rejoicing in such love, we praise God’s faithfulness: ‘Great is thy
faithfulness’ (3:23).
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This is the third part of an article which was published in Evangel, 12.1 (1994): 2-4.
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