God's Mercies Never Come to an End
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ”
These words of encouragement from Lamentations were first written by Jeremiah, a prophet during the last years of Judah before Babylon plundered the country and took its people into captivity. Jeremiah had a hard and dangerous job, a lonely job- but he trusted in the faithfulness of God. God had sent him to warn the people of what would happen if they continued to follow the evil ways they were living. Jeremiah was imprisoned and tortured for speaking the truth, and he eventually did witness to the destruction of his country.
Jeremiah had hard words to share with the people, but he also had a message of hope. He never lost sight of who God was (and is) nor did he forgot the truth of God's faithfulness.
God had promised Jeremiah that He would remain faithful to his chosen people. The people would remain captive for 70 years, but a remnant of those who loved God would be saved and brought back to the Promised Land to rebuild.
When I consider how hard Jeremiah's life was, I wonder at how managed to keep himself together, continuing the work that God had given him. I know that Lamentations 3:22-23 holds a key. Jeremiah knew that God's mercies were enough for each day (new every morning). He trusted in the steadfast love of the Lord, knowing that he had everything he needed for that day. To worry about the future would have been pointless. God's mercies never come to an end.
