God’s Faithfulness

God’s Faithfulness

His compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:22

IN WORD It was a devastating scene. Jerusalem—the city of God, the seat of His Temple, the center of the world’s priestly nation—had been sacked. It was totally destroyed. Walls had fallen, thousands had been killed or taken captive, and the Temple had been toppled. The chosen people had been chosen for catastrophe. The world’s link between heaven and earth had been broken.

The book of Lamentations is just what its name implies—a lament. It is an outpouring of grief by the prophet Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. It is a cry of anguish rising up from the rubble. And yet right in the middle of it is this astounding declaration: “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (vv. 22-23).

Despite circumstantial evidence to the contrary, God was faithful to Israel. Despite the fact that this devastation would cause the ultimate crisis of faith—a chosen people questioning their chosenness—Jeremiah saw something greater than despair. He saw the faithfulness of God. That just doesn’t compare to anything our eyes can see, no matter how bleak life appears.

IN DEED Jeremiah’s understanding of God’s faithfulness is what God longs for each of us to have. When life falls apart—when a marriage fails, when a loved one suffers with a fatal disease, when bankruptcy is imminent, when the valley of the shadow of death is before us—God is faithful. We may not understand exactly how He will be faithful, but we know He will because He said so. And the faithful always keep their promises.

God’s faithfulness is hard to grasp because God is vastly different than we can imagine. He isn’t fickle like even the best people we know. He doesn’t change His mind in the same sense human beings do. He doesn’t ride the waves of cultural trends and popularity polls. He is faithful—ever constant, utterly devoted, and always true. Rely on Him.

God’s investment in us is so great He could not possibly abandon us.

—ERWIN LUTZER