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| Lamentations 3 is for me :D | |
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1 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. 7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. 9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked. 10 Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, 11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help. 12 He drew his bow and made me the target for his arrows. 13 He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. 17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18 So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD." 19 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. 28 Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him. 29 Let him bury his face in the dust— there may yet be hope. 31 For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. 32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. I've shortened the chapter but this is basically what's speaking into my life right now. It's tough being mangled by God, but then that's the only way he gets us to straighten out. Like a chiropractor fixing a person with chronically bad posture, He has to hurt us to make us better. I've had the quite gory image of a person in prison, shackles on his hands and feet. Years of struggling against the chains have torn the skin off, and scabs have formed around and over the shackles. (Gross huh?) And when the Rescuer has finally opened the prison doors, you have to decide if you're gonna let him take the shackles off you (scabs and gangrenous flesh and all) because you know it's gonna hurt like nothing else, or if you're going to just stay and rot in that jailcell because you're afraid of the pain. This momentary pain is nothing compared to the glorious reward that awaits us if we remain plugged into The Source! | |
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