Lamentations 3:22-36 (2)

4.     That those who deal with God will find it is not in vain to trust in Him; for He is good to those who do so (v25), and those that do so will find it good for them (v26).

God will never disappoint you.  Or, as the Bible says, if you trust in God you will not be ashamed or embarrassed by the outcome (Ps. 25:2,3,20).  Our hope is in a God who loves us (Rom. 5:5).  If you trust in Christ for salvation you will not be ashamed (Rom. 10:11).  You will not stand before God in judgment with the debt of sin only partially paid.  All things will, in fact, work together for good to them that are called of God (Rom. 8:28).  At the end of his life, as he suffered with cancer, my father held on to the words of the Apostle, “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Phil. 1:20).  May I, we, do the same.

5.     That afflictions are really good for us, and if we bear them aright, will work very much for our good.  It is not only good to hope and wait for the salvation, but it is good to be under the trouble in the mean time.  (v27)

Affliction is good in itself.  The Hebrew word means to be pleasant, agreeable.  There is essential value in suffering, especially when we are young.  We should remember our Creator when we are young, before the hard days of old age come on us (Eccl. 12:1).  An entire stanza is devoted to this thought in Psalm 119 (v65-72).  Affliction now makes us more familiar with God’s promises later (v65).  Affliction gives us better judgment (v66), increases obedience (v67), helps us know God better (v68), gives strength against peer pressure (v69), equips us for life (v70), adds to our knowledge of God’s word (v71), and corrects our priorities (v72).  Those who suffer can have maturity denied to those living in ease.  (Cf. Rom. 5:3-5; 2 Cor. 1:3-7; James 1:2-5 for similar thoughts on the value of trials.)

6.     That God will graciously return to His people with seasonable comforts according to the time that He has afflicted them. (v31-32)

Here the issue is God’s timing.  Often the Psalmist would ask, “How long, oh Lord?” (Psalm 6,13,35,62, etc)  So yes, it seems too long to us.  But our hope is in our God who alone knows the end from the beginning.  Remember Jesus waited two extra days before leaving to go to Lazarus who in the meantime had died (John 11:4-7,21,32).  The sisters both noted, “If you had been here he would not have died.”  But in the end, if Jesus had been there Lazarus would not have been raised from the dead.  What of Joseph in the Egyptian prison, as we would say, having been victimized three times: by his brothers, his master Potipher, and then by the cupbearer who failed to inform Pharaoh of his plight.   But the whole point was, you meant it for evil but God meant it for good.  In the end Joseph was second ruler in Egypt and able to deliver God’s people.  God’s timing is impeccable.  Ours is short-sighted.  He WILL show compassion!