11.22.23

“[these verses are] not just true in the beginning when you’re still running on adrenaline, nor at the end when we see the result of a miracle - they are true right in the middle when you’re exhausted, mourning, sleepless, and worn down, when you’re in the thick of it.”

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The book of Lamentations was written around 586 BC when the nation of Israel was mourning their Temple's destruction. This was not just a building that was ransacked and destroyed; the temple signified the very Presence, Space in time that God was WITH them. 

No Temple, no Presence. 

This book begins in the same way a funeral dirge would begin - with the word "Eychah" which means "alas! how!" It was written in a time of the utmost despair and mourning! 

Suffering and pain are built up in prose, winds raging not just in front and behind but all around. 

But as you continue to look, the center - bullseye - begins to make an appearance. In the middle of the book, the 3rd chapter, in the middle of the chapter, the 21st verse, we reach the eye of the storm; the place where you can stand, on solid ground. 

"This I recall to my heart - 

therefore I have hope:

Because of the mercies of the Lord

we will not be consumed, 

for His compassions never fail. 

They are new every morning! 

Great is Your faithfulness.

'The Lord is my portion," says my soul, 

'therefore I will hope in Him.'

The Lord is good 

to those who wait for Him, 

to the soul that seeks Him."

No Temple, no Presence. Feeling alone and forsaken. And yet- these verses do not appear at the beginning when it’s easy to Hope, nor at the end when they see the resolution. No - they are right in the center, in the thick of it. 

As I write this, sitting in a hospital room (once again) beside my husband, I feel in the thick of it. There are so many verses and chapters in Scripture that can bring comfort during hard times. But there’s something especially comforting to me about these verses; their very position within the book/story serves as a reminder that this is not just true in the beginning when you’re still running on adrenaline, nor at the end when we see the result of a miracle - they are true right in the middle when you’re exhausted, mourning, sleepless, and worn down, when you're in the thick of it. His compassion and mercies are new for you every morning. Great is His faithfulness. 

I pray that each one of you, today, would have the strength to recall Truth to your heart, and when you don’t have the words to pray, you can always borrow these from Lamentations. 

Rebekah Mancino