As always, you can read the transcript of the sermon below.
Lamentations 3:21-26
21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,for His mercies/compassions never fail.23 They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness.24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;therefore I will wait for Him.”25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him,to the one who seeks Him;26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Galatians
5:22
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self control.
Lamentations 3:21-26 FAITHFULNESS IN THIS GROWING SEASON
Are you usually up early enough in the morning to see the sunrise? Those of you who grew up on a farm will have been very familiar with early morning and early morning chores. When it is planting season, farmers need to make the most of the day from dawn to dusk and sometimes beyond. You will certainly have seen some sunrises and beautiful pictures of sunrises.
When God paints the morning skies with the stirring colours of a new day, it is a magnificent way of declaring that, “His compassions, His mercies are new every morning.” (vs.23)
That is faithfulness. We see constant examples of God’s faithfulness in our lives and in the lives of others. Faithfulness is what God calls us to display as those who believe in Him and trust Him and want to live for Him. Faithfulness is included in the list of the fruits of God’s Spirit. God expects us as His followers to demonstrate faithfulness in the way we live our lives. We are intended to be growing in faithfulness. There are no excuses that the current growing season makes it too hard to be faithful. With each new day, we have a fresh supply of God’s mercies, God’s compassions. As God shows His faithfulness to us, He invites us to rely on His constant faithfulness so that we too can be faithful. Faithfulness reminds me that whatever the growing season, there is planting of seeds of faith to be done and that only God can cause us to grow in faithfulness.
This Old Testament Book of Lamentations, where we find our Scripture inspiration for today, was written at a time when the Hebrew people were taken away from their homes into exile in Babylon. This followed the fall of Jerusalem in 587 BC. For this community of faith, this was a time of dealing with intense loss and pain. The faithfulness of God is highlighted in a powerful way in the experience of these people and the way that they expressed faith in God in a time of such struggle and seeming hopelessness. God entered into their suffering with them and was a companion with them in their suffering.
If we want to describe the faithfulness of God in our lives, we can also point to times when God has entered into our suffering and despair with us and been a trusted Companion. Faithfulness, by its very definition speaks of being constant and unchanging. God’s faithfulness is not limited by time or circumstance.
I just received a dining card this week as a gift. I did notice that there is an expiration date of June 2021. There are various coupons for dining or grocery items that have expiration dates. They must be used by the expiry date or they have no value. By contrast, God’s faithfulness never expires. It has lasting value. God is available to us in the good times and the hard times, the best of times and the worst of times. This is what the writer of Lamentations (thought to be the prophet Jeremiah) had come to realize. He could maintain hope even in an extremely difficult season because of God’s faithfulness. (vs. 21) “God’s compassions (His mercies) never fail…” (vs. 22) Seeing that God’s faithfulness is great and having experienced His faithfulness, His absolute dependability, over and over, how might God’s example of faithfulness grow in us in this season?
There are some parallels to an experience of exile in the season that this pandemic has brought about for us. It has been a time of feeling removed from the familiar, unable to be with family and friends. It has been and continues to be a time when so much has changed and the future is uncertain. In the midst of this, as we rely on God’s faithfulness, we too can demonstrate faithfulness. We can literally be faithful-full of faith. Our faithfulness to God keeps us from moving into a place where we lose hope and give up. Our faithfulness to God continues to guide the way that we respond to care about people around us. Faithful friends are needed and we can be faithful friends. I participated in an online spiritual retreat this week called “Soul Care.” One of the things that was emphasized to me as I was being still and listening for God, is that it is essential that I urge people to depend on God and not on me. We want to grow in faithfulness to God, but ultimately all of us need to rely on God and His faithfulness. We cannot always be available to people, but God in his faithfulness can.
We have missed our church family and have realized that gathering together to worship God and to celebrate His faithfulness is an important part of affirming our faithfulness and being recharged to live lives of faithfulness week by week. As we are slowly seeing things reopen, and as we anticipate moving back into some regular activities, will we have grown in faithfulness? Our Scripture reminds us, “I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion. Therefore I will wait for Him.” (vs. 24) There is still waiting for us in the days ahead. We don’t know how long this whole process of reopening will take. We will need to keep on relying on God’s faithfulness and we will need to keep on growing in faithfulness as we depend on Him and invite others to depend on God and His eternal faithfulness. As we are waiting in this season and praying that God will cause faithfulness to grow in us, we can rest in the assurance of the closing verses of this Scripture, “ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (vss. 25,26) Quietly waiting and maintaining our hope in God’s faithfulness is our faithful task.
For what are you waiting? God waits with us and His steady faithfulness makes it possible when the sun rises on each new day for us to also display and to grow in faithfulness! Be inspired by the words of this hymn, based on today’s Scripture and we can make it our prayer to our faithful God: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS:
Great
is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of
turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail
not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
Great
is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by
morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath
provided—
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer
and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in
their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To
Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Pardon
for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to
cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for
tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!