Lamentations 1:3: “Judah has gone into captivity, / Under affliction and hard servitude; / She dwells among the nations, / She finds no rest; / All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.”

November 21st, 2024 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Lamentations opens after the third and final deportation of Jerusalem’s citizens to Babylon. God’s covenant with His people required that they willingly obey His word, and the consequence of breaking that covenant was that their enemies would overwhelm them, but they refused to obey. Jeremiah records their awful realization that they had lost both their personal freedom and their privileged position of representing God before the watching, heathen world. God expected them, and us, to reject idols and worship Him, the Creator. When we do so, we exchange our earthly, short-term goals for godly, eternal goals.

From eternity, we will look back with pity on those who wasted the few short years of this life chasing short-term social and financial ambitions. God intends for each of our lives to have lasting significance and positive, eternal consequences. Jesus said it clearly in John 12:25–26:

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

Just how Father God will honor His servants remains to be seen, but we are confident that it will be amazing.

It reminds us of the final hours on this earth of Marco Polo, the famous 13-century Venetian traveler. It is said that when he lay dying, those surrounding him urged him to recant the fantastic stories he had told about China and the lands he had seen in the Far East. But he said “I have not told half what I saw.” No person this side of eternity is able to tell, not just a half, but even a hundredth part, of what is awaiting us in heaven. 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, / Nor have entered into the heart of man / The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

“LORD, send Your grace onto our lives this day so that we can serve You faithfully.”