LETTER FOR JANUARY 1994
-----

"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.
I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore will I wait for him’".
Lamentations 3:22-24

=====

Dear Friends,

In the midst of great public and personal troubles and difficulties, the prophet Jeremiah came to the assurance, an assurance that God gave him in grace, which is expressed in these words which are our message for this new year. It is my purpose in this letter to you to meditate on the assurance expressed by the prophet, so that in some measure we may also have it for this new year before us.

What the prophet had come to be assured of, and in the midst of great anguish and affliction, was God’s faithfulness to his people. It was not something that he had not known before, but something that was brought home to him in a much deeper and fuller way at this time. Such was this assurance given to him by God that he could say that God’s faithfulness was very great. "Great is your faithfulness".

God is faithful to his promise of salvation to his people. Jeremiah could affirm this at a time when Israel was under God’s heavy hand of affliction because of their continued sins, and when they were being allowed by God to be defeated by their enemies and to be carried off into captivity.

This new year may bring its times of trouble. We may be suffering such troubles even now, or have done during 1993. These may still be fresh in our minds. Unlike Israel our troubles may not have any obvious cause, such as Israel’s of turning away from God again after years of apostasy; but even so we wonder why we are afflicted. We find it hard to bear. Perhaps we ask ourselves whether God is displeased with us for some reason.

In afflictions, often we have a renewed and deeper sense of our sinfulness and failure, and even though we are daily seeking to live by faith and honour the will of God as we see it, this aggravates our troubles, and raises further questions in our mind.

Perhaps our trouble is like that expressed by the Apostle Paul, who spoke of a thorn in his flesh, a messenger of Satan sent to buffet him. We do not know what this affliction was, but even though Paul prayed earnestly for deliverance, the Lord did not grant his request, but told him "my grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in weakness". By this answer the Lord was saying that Paul would have to bear this "thorn in the flesh". It would not be taken away, but rather he would glorify God by triumphing over it by the grace and strength God was giving him. We may have prayed for deliverance, and we may too have found no deliverance, and perhaps the Lord is saying that we have to bear it in the strength he gives.

Jeremiah knew these troubles more than most, and still he had assurance of the great faithfulness of God to his believing people.

Firstly, God is faithful in loving us. Jeremiah says, "because of the Lord’s great love". God’s love is very great indeed. He loved us when we were rebels against him. His love did not shirk the greatest of sacrifices for us, the objects of his love, for God so loved that he gave his only begotten Son. We love God because he first loved us. He loved us by providing, in Christ, the way we may be reconciled to him forever. His love is not quenched or shocked by what we are, because he loved us and saved us knowing exactly what we are, and knowing it better than we do ourselves. His love is faithful because it is a love that planned to bring us to his glory, fit for that holy place, and will never fail in that purpose.

Secondly, God is faithful to his promise of salvation. We will not be consumed, because God has pledged that Jesus, on the cross, was consumed in our place, and exhausted there on the cross, when he suffered and died, all God’s wrath and just anger against our sin. God will never go back on his pledge. He cannot and will not judge sin twice. Having judged sin completely in Jesus, he is faithful to his word that he will remember our sins no more, and will always welcome us in love for Christ’s sake.

Thirdly, God is faithful in the way he treats us every day. His compassion’s never fail, they are new every morning. He understands our nature and character. He knows our failings. He knows our limitations. He sees our difficulties. He appreciates our fears. He knows how much we can bear. He knows about the pressures that cause us to crumple. In all these, and much more, he never despises us, or gives up with us, or fails to bear our burdens, or ceases to work in love to bring us perfect to heaven. We find each day how more wonderful is God’s compassion and love for us. Even when he corrects us we know his compassion still never fails.

It is because of this faithfulness of God that Jeremiah could say, "the Lord is my portion". What he is saying here is that God is his God and will never fail him; but also he is saying that in spite of all the other attractions in the world, and all the other sources of help, the Lord is the only one who really answers his need, satisfies his soul, is the source of strength to him, and is his fulfilment and purpose in life.

This is equally true for us. The Lord is our portion. He is the only one who is. He is our life. We need to be convinced of this, as Jeremiah was, by dwelling on God’s faithfulness, and making the deductions from God’s word and from our experience, so that the assured conclusion we come to is "The Lord is my portion".

When we are really assured of all this, we find ourselves joining with Jeremiah in saying "therefore I will wait for him". The present time may be very difficult. We may be heavy with worries. We may find little comfort perhaps at the moment from God. We may not be able to see light at the end of the tunnel. But we can say from our heart " we will wait for him". This is because of our assurance that God is faithful and will never forsake us or let us down. Things will be resolved. They will be, and can only be, resolved by him, therefore I will wait for him to resolve them. God may seem far away, but he is faithful, and he will again make me to know and feel his loving presence, so I will wait for him, for he is my portion.

The Lord may seem to be far away, and we may seem to be alone. The Lord may seem to have forsaken us and we may feel he is refusing to come and deliver us. But Great is His Faithfulness, therefore we can wait patiently in faith, until again we are conscious of his love and purpose in our lives, and know again that the Lord was always their and his compassion had never failed.

May the Lord be your portion in 1994, and always, as you are assured of his great faithfulness.

Your servant for Christ’s sake,