God is Ever Faithful

By Tosin Lawal

Devotional Reading: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22‭-‬23 NIV‬

The book of Lamentations expresses passionate grief and sorrow over Jerusalem. Jeremiah’s lamentation reveals the consequences that follow a nation that turns away from the Lord their God. One clear message in his lamentation is that Jerusalem’s sin had opened the door to several calamities that befell her (Lam. 1:8-9, 14).

Sin is terrible, and living a sinful life always comes with consequences that are never palatable. Any person or nation living a sinful lifestyle will always be a person or nation of sorrow. Jeremiah’s statements in Lam. 1:14 and 2:1-2 may make it seem as though it is God who afflicts his chosen ones directly whenever they err.

However, Jesus, the ultimate revelation of God, has revealed that God is altogether good. He is inherently good, and evil does not spring from God, for a good tree does not produce both good and bad fruit.

While in the Old Testament days, that possibly was the best way they could interpret their experiences with God and the consequences of their sins, it is clear that God does not afflict his chosen ones with evil in the name of punishing them. God judges, and his judgments are righteous.

Every action of a person comes with consequences. Just like God told Adam and Eve in the beginning that if they disobeyed his instruction, they would die, and they died when they disobeyed. God did not bring death to them; He only declared to them the consequence of their actions. Therefore, it is clear that Jerusalem was suffering and reaping the consequences of their sinful way of life and departing from the Lord their God.

The consequences of living a sinful life can be very costly and terrible. Alongside his lamentation, Jeremiah confessed that God is just and that they had rebelled against him (Lam. 1:18). He also confessed in 3:22-26 about the Lord’s faithfulness and how honorable it is for people to trust him.

Most of our turning away from the Lord has its roots in not trusting the Lord enough. Jeremiah’s confession of the Lord’s great love and faithfulness was to an end that he was confident that God would bring total deliverance and restoration to Jerusalem. They only needed to start trusting him and forsake their sinful way of life.

Beloved, God is faithful. This saying is trustworthy and evident throughout the pages of scripture. He can be trusted. If you have turned away from the Lord and are reaping the consequences of turning away from him, you can humble yourself, repent, and trust God for total recovery. God is faithful even when we are faithless.

Prayer and Confession
God is ever faithful. He can be trusted. I will keep trusting him and acknowledging him in all of my ways.

Further Readings: 2Thessalonians 3:3, Psalm 33:4