A Promise for the Hard Times

When I was eight years old, we moved from the place of my birth, Houston, to Wichita Falls, TX, to live. We left the house that I called home, the school I attended and all my friends. I remember we didn't leave Houston in Dad's new '57 Chevy BelAir, but in an older car. I remember being sad about leaving, but I remember my dad and mom being sad for a long time before and after that day. At eight years of age, you don't understand things like lay-offs, a poor economy, repossessions, and foreclosures. Fortunately, my uncle Don was willing to hire my dad in his business, so we moved to Wichita Falls.

That was a difficult time for our family. Dad and mom were just trying to make a living and provide for my brother and me. After the move, my brother and I saw this as simply the beginning of a new adventure. We made new friends, went to new schools, lived down the road from Mr. Harris who had horses, and in the winter it snowed there. For my parents, it was all just surviving.

Sometimes life on this planet can be very hard. The loss of a job; the loss of a loved one; the failure of a marriage; the failure of a dream; the betrayal of a friend; the betrayal of an aging body; the fear of the unknown; the fear of the known...all can be devastating. We normally don't look at these, as new adventures...we often go into survival mode. Sometimes we never get over it.

How do we deal with these times in life? How do we cope when everything is coming apart at the seams? For the person who trusts is the Lord, there is a wonderful promise located in the book of Lamentations in the Bible.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They ae new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him;" Lamentations 3:22-25

The prophet Jeremiah, who penned these words, was an eyewitness to the fall of the city of Jerusalem, many, many years ago at the hand of a hostile pagan nation. He knew people whose children were taken into captivity as slaves. He saw the Temple of God desecrated and destroyed and the gates of the city burned. He was up close and personal with God's judgment on His own people for their continued sin. And though he, personally, had been faithful to God, he was not spared the agony of experiencing life at it's worse.

Yet in the midnight of those dark days, God promises to deliver fresh every single morning, His compassion on those who trust in Him. He always delivers...because great is His faithfulness.

I know these words to be true by my own experiences.
In the those times when I fear the worse; He is faithful to reveal His best.
When I feel betrayed; He is faithful to be at my side.
When I grieve the loss of something I love, He is faithful to comfort me with His great love.
When I am filled with anger; He reminds me of the healing of forgiveness.
When I am at the end of my rope; His hand lifts me up.
When I am uncertain of the future; He tells me He knows it and it's good.
When the messes of my life are of my own making; He lovingly cleanses me of my sin and sets me on the right path.

He has been faithful in this promise to me and He will be found faithful to you and all who trust in Him.

Why? Because He loves us and He is faithful to keep His promises to His children. With "childlike" faith, we can look beyond the darkness to a brand new day with the assurance of God's love and faithfulness. He delivers.... fresh daily!