His Love Never Fails Us
We're all prone to messing up. After all, we're human. Yet even in our darkest times, God's love never fails us, and always welcomes us back.
“Even in our darkest times, God’s love never fails but welcomes us back.”
Scripture:
Lamentations 3:1-33
I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light;
indeed, he has turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has broken my bones.
He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness and hardship.
He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead.He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
he shuts out my prayer.
He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked.Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding,
he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows.He pierced my heart
with arrows from his quiver.
I became the laughingstock of all my people;
they mock me in song all day long.
He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink.He has broken my teeth with gravel;
he has trampled me in the dust.
I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope: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 I will wait for him.”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.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.Let him sit alone in silence,
for the Lord has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
Highlights:
• How does a person who’s filled with guilt, anger, and shame remember the tender mercies of God?
• We have to confess our bitterness.
• There are some choices that have and are ruining people’s lives and they stem from doubting that God truly does want what’s best for us.
• We can’t expect God’s blessing if we’re living in a way that ignores His will.
• We have to preach God’s truths to ourselves.
• Pain can be so consuming, that it starts to be the way we look at life in general, even God.
• Love isn’t simply what God does, it’s who God is.
• Being saved from the eternal consequences of our sin doesn’t exempt us from experiencing the momentary consequences of persistent sin.
• We have to receive correction.
• Sometimes our physical infirmities reveal sin that not only has a part in bringing about the illness, but has been keeping us from the heart of God.
• Exile is not the purpose of discipline, redemption is.
• Discipline is a chance to consider what God is trying to show us.
• Even in our darkest times, God’s love never fails but welcomes us back.
