Waiting quietly

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.
Lamentations 3:22-26

For men are not 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 the children of men.
Lamentations 3:31-33

The valley is filled with sorrow and worry at the moment. Grief is almost uniform, with so many people in the church hurting in so many ways. It was striking at the Bible study this morning to discover just how many people had come in the door with heavy hearts, myself included.

But when all of our hopes and plans and the things in which we trust are stripped away, we are left with one question: do we trust God? Faced with trials, will we curse Him or cling to Him? Will we proclaim His goodness or doubt it? We don't have to put on a facade and pretend everything is fine when all is not fine, but will we stand with God as we look at our circumstances and ask our questions, or will we turn on Him and be quick to blame and slow to accept His comfort? He offers it so freely, and it is so good.

Satisfaction

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
-John Piper

I've been noticing within myself a deep sense of satisfaction lately. An absence of murmur, worry, preoccupation. As I have sought God more, He has "been found" by me (Jeremiah 29:14), and I have been the one to benefit. My circumstances are not perfect. There are certainly areas of my life that I would like to see changed, healed, or grown by the hand of God. Nor have I lost my ambition-- I still have hopes, dreams, and plans for my future. Satisfaction is not synonymous with complacency. But at the end of a day, when I am alone with my thoughts, myself, my situation, I am satisfied. Are you?

"The Lord is my portion." (Lamentations 3:24). Interesting and important to note that this is not a pithy statement written by a man with an easy life. The author makes it clear that he has his troubles, but he maintains a posture of quietness, waiting on the Lord, who is to be his everything. He can be, if we will only let Him.