September 21, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed.
 His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.
 Great is your faithfulness. [Thus] I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.‘”  (Lamentations 3.22-24)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

I suppose we could take a great deal of time reviewing the history of Israel from the vantage point of when they weren’t being persecuted, attacked and carried of into some sort of exile. It would seem that they spent more time in their “spiritual wilderness” than in the Promised Land of peace and provision. Even though they were in that very land which God had chosen for them, its abundance was more apparent to others than to themselves. By this I mean that they did not seem to take seriously those three realities of lament I mentioned previously: who they were, whose they were and who they were intended to be. What led them to a false sense of identity (how many times can we say the right words but intend for them to have a meaning which serves our purpose instead of the designed purpose) can only be attributed to sin and a sin nature. It is easy to fall prey to that sin nature and focus on the needs and wants of the flesh instead of the design and promise of the spirit. It really shouldn’t have to be one of the other, mind you. God created us to be fleshly beings with a carnal nature intentionally. However, as we are taught within the creation story itself, that carnal and fleshly nature was as good as dead until…. It is that “until” which is seriously critical to our understanding of “who we are, who we are to become and whose we are.” Without the ruach, breath of God, inspired into our beings we only have the appearance of life. The spark of life, just as the spark of creation, is in us. However, with the ignition of that spark it will remain an ember fading into darkness because it is just a spark. It is the breath of God which brings it to life and into a flame of power, goodness, purpose, meaning and existence as God designed. I believe it is that “moment of life” which the Prophet Isaiah was describing when he spoke, “Those who are living in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them a light has shone.” (Isaiah 9.2) I can’t help but see the reflection of that acknowledgement in the preamble of John’s gospel, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God and the Word was with God; in Him was the Light and the light was the life of every person. It shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.” (John 1.1-3) We, and they, are not speaking of light merely as the absence of darkness. It is not spoken of there and here as a physical reality but as a life choice. Darkness becomes a concept of ignorance, hostility, chaos and all that opposes God, His Will and His desire for humanity, specifically, and all of creation in general. It was with that in mind, that the Apostle Paul urged the church in Ephesus (as a seat of Roman authority in Asia Minor) to equip itself for the battle against the forces of evil and darkness. He would declare, “For our battle is not against flesh and blood but against powers, principalities and dark kingdoms.” (Ephesians 6.12) You would think with all of those warning messages, the people of God, in particular, would pay attention and desire to be in the “light” (the will of God) instead of in the “dark” (the antithesis of God’s will.)

There are consequences to both decisions. Throughout the Old Testament we can read of those consequences when the people of God acted more like the people they were called to bear witness to in the world. They were attacked, cursed, besieged and carried away into exile. Their families were dispersed via intermarriage with foreigners. Their leadership was removed from power and became either the puppets of their conquerors executing their will instead of God’s or they were sent to a far country where their influence seemingly would be silenced and forgotten. Their homes, crops, cities and even the Temple was destroyed. God warned them through the judges and the prophets and some kings of the folly of pursuing their own way apart from being obedient to God. He would even declare that He would release them to follow the hardness of their own heart and mind and see what it got them. God didn’t have to punish them. Evil begats evil. What is that saying most of us grew up with? Ah, “Don’t stick your finger in the wall plug and think you won’t get shocked!” or some variation with the same meaning. Step into the darkness beyond the campfire and the predators who are crouching there may well consume you. This would be “their portion.” It is that which Jeremiah spoke in his lament. As he watched the reforms of King Josiah (the Deuteronomic Reform as it is called now which he and other prophets such as Hosea supported in great part) fail because it dealt far more with the externals of religion as obedience to God which would curry His favor, he saw the devastation such “sin-festation” brought about. It was like a spiritual cancer ravaging the body of faith (for Jeremiah et al, it was Israel and the Jews; for us, it is the Church.) The truth was obvious while many remained oblivious to the truth accepting the lie sowed by the enemy to be supreme (such as: it will pass, just be more externally faithful, etc.) We can see the story of Job as a means of explaining what Jeremiah was declaring in his lament as he said, “The LORD is my portion; I will wait for Him.” He would not submit to any other authority. He would not question God’s word, work or intent. He knew that only by trusting in God, believing in Him with all of his heart and mind and body and soul (regardless of the circumstances which brought tears to his eyes), and waiting on him (a word of double application of being patient for God’s will to run its course as well as to serve the Lord God and those to whom he was directed) would he see the good results and the people come to their senses to repent, confess their sins, turn away from the ways of the world, seek God only and pray without ceasing.

Jeremiah chose to endure the discipline of God in order to be a disciple of God. The call to follow suit was his pledge in His lament to accomplish as God made Himself fully known. It should be our choice as well, mighty ones of God, as we see this world being consumed by darkness. We are given to be “light and salt” in the world. Let us commit to doing so as the portion which is given to us. Keep the faith alive. Share the faith by living it out. God will see what is being done and by whom. He will execute His justice with mercy and with truth.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.