Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning. —Lamentations 3:22–23
In the book of Lamentations we find people who are broken by the systemic and sinful consequences of previous generations and their own. What do they do? They lament, and they repent. They look back, but they also push forward. They remember that God’s mercies are new every morning. They know that a new day is upon them in which there is forgiveness and restoration . . .
This is the tension of living in a fallen world. We admit our pain, trauma, and disappointment, and yet they don’t have to control us. We can cast our cares on the Lord. . . .
On the cross, Jesus felt forsaken by his Father. Because of that, he can sympathize with us. And because of that, he can forgive us and through his Spirit transform us.
Whatever our experience of family, we are all victims and we are all rebels. So we lament. We repent. And then, because of God’s grace, we look forward with hope. 1
1 Finding My Father: How the Gospel Heals the Pain of Fatherlessness, 2021, Blair Linne
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Finding My Father: How the Gospel Heals the Pain of Fatherlessness by Blair Linne, ©2021 by The Good Book Company, used by kind permission. www.thegoodbook.com
Scripture taken from The CSB
Make it Personal
How can you look forward with hope to the future even as you lament and repent the pain of the past?