written by Connie Dunmyer
I am a forgetful person.
I'd tell you a memory loss joke, but it slipped my mind.
I have a photographic memory, just forgot to load the film.
I forget things so often that my memory is thinking about suing me for neglect.
My memory’s so bad, I need a GPS to find my glasses.
My memory is like a broken clock—right twice a day
Are you laughing? Maybe a giggle? Good. Because we are now entering what I call “the dark zone”. . . Lamentations.
It’s right there in the title. Lamenting – which means “mourning aloud; wailing; express one's deep grief”. Lamentations is chapter & verse of pain and suffering. And Jeremiah knows that pain is coming from the Lord. But Jeremiah doesn’t hold back his feelings. It’s an incredible thing to know that it is ok to come to God with how we feel – sadness, depression, anger – even anger at God. But no worries – God can handle it. He doesn’t push us aside for our feelings. We may FEEL like we’ve been abandoned – but God’s promises say “No way, José”.
Lamentations: 3:19-23
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
This is not a happy dude. Been there – done that!
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Whaaaaat?
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.
There’s a song that says “He made His mercies new, 'cause He knew we'd forget.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu0Oxxpvz9I
Yes – I tend to forget. Well, not so much forget as choose not to remember.
Often when I read about the Israelites turning back from God, I wonder “How could they do that after what God had just done for them?” But is this not me?
AND YET – verse 21 says – I purposely recall verses 22-23, AND THEREFORE I have hope!
What’s the “therefore” there for? For what Jeremiah recalled and what I can choose to recall: that because of the Lord’s great love – not in general, but specific love for us – because of that love, we are not consumed. We are not “devoured” or “used up”. AND we never will be. Why? Because God’s compassions for us, His beloved, never ever EVER fail!
The days can be crushing. The months painful. The years exhausting. BUT we will not be consumed – we will not be used up. I can own this. I can personalize it. Although I don’t see a way out, I will not be consumed. I will not be devoured. I will not be used up. Yes – my soul is downcast sometimes. And it’s hard to breathe. But I CHOOSE to recall this – to bring it to the forefront of my mind on purpose, that God has promised I will not be consumed by this or anything else BECAUSE of His Great Love for me (& YOU) – and God NEVER EVER fails.
Now that’s enough reason to do a dance or a jig. At least a raised hand in the air. Maybe even a Hallelujah!
However, I am still a human being, after all. And I still forget – A LOT!
But guess what – God knew I would. So He set in motion that even though I can forget His mercies from one day to the next, or even one moment to the next – His mercies, His compassions, are new every single day! It is impossible for me to “consume” all of them. They are never used up.
This is my hope. I can count on that!
Today is a blessed day. Not because I have my ducks in a row – because I don’t . . . Not because I have a solution on the horizon – because I don’t . . . BUT because GOD has given me a brand new day FULL of His mercies and compassions. I have all I need and more.
So let’s “forget” to be forgetful – and let’s remember (on purpose) His never-ending mercies.
Ok. One more:
Man: Doctor I have got a short term memory problem. I forget things really fast.
Doctor: So, how long have you had this problem?
Man: What problem?
