And now, a word from Jeremiah
A reminder that in the midst of affliction, God is still there. In fact, perhaps more there and more immediately present to us than at other times.
Lamentations 3:1-33 1: I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath; 2: he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3: surely against me he turns his hand again and again the whole day long. 4: He has made my flesh and my skin waste away, and broken my bones; 5: he has besieged and enveloped me with bitterness and tribulation; 6: he has made me dwell in darkness like the dead of long ago. 7: He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has put heavy chains on me; 8: though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; 9: he has blocked my ways with hewn stones, he has made my paths crooked. 10: He is to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding; 11: he led me off my way and tore me to pieces; he has made me desolate; 12: he bent his bow and set me as a mark for his arrow. 13: He drove into my heart the arrows of his quiver; 14: I have become the laughingstock of all peoples, the burden of their songs all day long. 15: He has filled me with bitterness, he has sated me with wormwood. 16: He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17: my soul is bereft of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; 18: so I say, "Gone is my glory, and my expectation from the LORD." 19: Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall! 20: My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. 21: But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; 23: they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. 24: "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." 25: The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. 26: It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27: It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. 28: Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him; 29: let him put his mouth in the dust -- there may yet be hope; 30: let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. 31: For the Lord will not cast off for ever, 32: but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33: for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.