Lamentations 3-5: Only For Our Good

He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
   he has weighed me down with chains.
Even when I call out or cry for help,
   he shuts out my prayer.
He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
   he has made my paths crooked. - Lam. 3:7-9 NIV

For men are not cast off
   by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
   so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
   or grief to the children of men. - Lam 3:31-33 NIV

You, O LORD, reign forever;
   your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us?
   Why do you forsake us so long?
Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return;
   renew our days as of old
unless you have utterly rejected us
   and are angry with us beyond measure. - Lam. 5:19-22 NIV

It's easy to think like the writer of Lamentations that we have been deserted by God, that he has forgotten and forsaken us.  But, that has never been the case.  It is always his people that have forgotten him.  His own people, those he has made a covenant with, those for whom he has always made a way.  It's one thing for those who don't know him to ignore him, but when his own people go astray, do they have any right to complain of the consequences?   I keep coming back to the same phrase, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way."  Why is it we'll try anything before we try God?  Fortunately, God is much more gracious to us than we would ever be.  Everything that happens to us, every event that God brings us through, is only for our own good, orchestrated by his unfailing love.

For men are not cast off
   by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
   so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
   or grief to the children of men. - Lam 3:31-33 NIV

2010 Post - Lamentations 3-5:  It Is Good To Wait Quietly