Great is thy faithfulness

I love God's reminders of his faithfulness even in the midst of sorrow. The last week was a week of grief bursts, depression and moments of despair. It is overwhelming at these times. And yet, God has met me in these moments in both big and little ways. Even the sermon today was on Jeremiah and his lamentations about the desolation of Jerusalem, and yet how Jeremiah turned to God.  I appreciate Jeremiah's utter honesty. His angst, sorrow, and grief. Yet, even in the midst he turns his eyes to God.  It reminded me even all these years after Jeremiah wrote this of God's utter faithfulness, goodness and love for us. God is good. He is trustworthy. He is oh so faithful. There is hope. From Lamentations 3 comes the verse that I picked for Josh's headstone. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases." The surrounded verses made up the verse from the funeral and message of that day.

 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will have hope in him."  

How beautiful to see a man in the depths of despair  and sorrow lift his eyes to the Lord reminding himself and me of the Lord's steadfast love, his mercy, and faithfulness. In Christ alone is there hope. I praise God for this reminder today through the sermon, the hymn 'Great is Thy Faithfulness" and even through the Holy Spirit's prompting of one of our church members to offer an unexpected gift after service.... just another reminder of God's faithfulness. 

PS I love this you tube version link of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".

https://youtu.be/dm-KsLytcW0

17 

my soul is bereft of peace;
    I have forgotten what happiness[a] is;
18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the Lord.”

19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
    the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers 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;[b]
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
    great is your 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 who 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 it is laid on him;
29 let him put his mouth in the dust—
    there may yet be hope;
30 let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,
    and let him be filled with insults.

31 For the Lord will not
    cast off forever,
32 but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not afflict from his heart
    or grieve the children of men.

34 To crush underfoot
    all the prisoners of the earth,
35 to deny a man justice
    in the presence of the Most High,
36 to subvert a man in his lawsut,
    the Lord does not approve.

37 Who has spoken and it came to pass,
    unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that good and bad come?
39 Why should a living man complain,
    a man, about the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us test and examine our ways,
    and return to the Lord!
41 Let us lift up our hearts and hands
    to God in heaven:
42 “We have transgressed and rebelled,
    and you have not forgiven.

43 “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,
    killing without pity;
44 you have wrapped yourself with a cloud
    so that no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us scum and garbage
    among the peoples.

46 “All our enemies
    open their mouths against us;
47 panic and pitfall have come upon us,
    devastation and destruction;
48 my eyes flow with rivers of tears
    because of the destruction of the daughter of my peop

49 “My eyes will flow without ceasing,
    without respite,
50 until the Lord from heaven
    looks down and sees;
51 my eyes cause me grief
    at the fate of all the daughters of my city.

52 “I have been hunted like a bird
    by those who were my enemies without cause;
53 they flung me alive into the pit
    and cast stones on me;
54 water closed over my head;
    I said, ‘I am lost.’

55 “I called on your name, O Lord,
    from the depths of the pit;
56 you heard my plea, ‘Do not close
    your ear to my cry for help!’
57 You came near when I called on you;
    you said, ‘Do not fear!’