Looking for the "But"

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Pastor's Reflection of the Day
Sheesh. I don't know about you, but I was getting a little impatient with the book of Lamentations yesterday and today.

I know that there is a place for lament in the life of a Christian. I have lived those times of lament--times of great loss or disappointment or estrangement from God. Lamentations is a great place to go when life is tough. I get that; I embrace that; I don't shy away from lamenting.

However, when I read through laments, I'm always looking for the "but." You know what I mean? Lamentations 1 and 2 are full of just that--lamentations . . . cries for mercy, pleading for release from sorrow. But I know there's always a "but."

And there it is, in all its magnificence: "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." (Lamentations 3:21, NRSV).

If there's anything I've learned from my "Ecclesiastes 3 kind of weekend" a month and a half ago(check out my post entitle: "Sunday Sermon: Ecclesiastes 3 sermon do-over" for the story), it's that life is full of seasons, like a time to be born and a time to die. And I've learned that each of those seasons has a beginning AND an end. So a season of lamenting (a time to tear down, a time to scatter, etc) will have an end; it will have a "but" that leads to a sliver of hope to be held on to.

It's appropriate, then, that Lamentations gives us the text for one of the most beloved hymns, "Great is Thy Faithfulness." I haven't included any music in my posts for a while so here's a youtube.com video of a solo jazz guitar performance of this very hymn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcKGXPbeqSQ