Episode 88 - Lamentations chapter 3 - Endings and Beginnings and God’s Blessings on Them All

Well hey, hello there!

Welcome to this episode of The Burt (Not Ernie) Show - getting the promises of God into the people of God one show at a time. TBNES is part of the Spark Network, now playing on the Edifi app.

 

Today we are doing that thing that comes so naturally to mankind at the close of a year… looking back in reflection and with thanksgiving, mourning what needs to be mourned, celebrating all that there is to rejoice about, praising God for all He has done in the last 12 months, and taking time to pause, reflect a bit, and remember whatever it is that each one of us needs to remember. (And if you maybe don’t feel like you are all that great at this, ask the Holy Spirit and He will show you what needs to be remembered… we can, and should, always always depend on the Spirit of the Living God to show us what we need to see. Ask him, and He will answer you!) And it is of course the time of year for looking forward. Sometimes, or honestly most of the time when we reach this point on the calendar, these few days between Christmas and the new year, we don’t simply LOOK ahead, we lean hard into the future, we pull toward it. More than a healthy time or reflection, quieting ourselves before the Lord so that we can fully dedicate all that just occurred and all that is about to occur to Him alone, we do far more than look ahead toward the new year with a listening ear and a calm, quieted heart. We rush ahead and leave behind things that God may just want to do a bit of work on… He may have some closure He wants to bring before we jump straight on into a brand new season. And a new year is, like it or not, a new season. 

 

We only get to do this whole end-of-year thing once every twelve months, so let’s sort of relax enough to see what He wants us to see, listen for what He is speaking, and move forward into 2022 at His pace… because, if we are honest, the pace we choose is not usually the same pace God chooses, and the pace we choose is usually not perfect. But as for God, His way is perfect. So let’s just close this thing out His way, at His pace. (Psalm 18:30 says that) 

 

And that brings me to the verses for this episode, which is episode #88. 

 

The Old Testament book of Lamentations is where we will be today. 

 

I will read it from the Amplified version, and I hope it brings you just buckets full of peace and trust and a calmness as we embark upon a new year. (Which I personally sense is going to be a pretty remarkable year overall for God’s people - I think it may start out much like 2020 and 2021, but in a matter of weeks I really think we are going to see things happen within the kingdom of God that will make a beautiful mark on the world at large. Just how I sense the Lord leading as I pray over the coming year & I am always ready to live my life in light of His good and perfect and pleasing will, as I am sure you are. So, let’s see what these verses have to say to us at this time of both exiting and entrance, shall we?) 

 

Lamentations 3:21-23 Amplified - 

 

But this I call to mind, Therefore I have hope.

It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,

Because His [tender] compassions never fail.

 

They are new every morning;

Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.

 

I am pretty sure you’ve heard these verses before. And with good reason! They are so, so good. Always encouraging, always bringing hope. Filled with the promises of our loving Father. We can hear these words and we know what His will is for us. So of course these are often referenced. They bring hope. And that is what the world needs. Always. There is not a time when the world as a whole doesn’t need hope, and we as followers of Christ have the only actual hope that works, and that is the hope we have in Jesus. 

 

Which is why I have said many times before, we ought to be the most hopeful people on the planet. 

Wouldn’t that be something for 2022, if believers everywhere were the most hopeful people in the world? Now, that would be a sight! What kind of change would that bring to people who are hurting, confused, grieving, and seeking light at the end of the tunnel?

 

Verse 21 - But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope

Look, if we aren’t doing this, we are gonna be flailing around and feeling all sorts of hopeless. And that, my friend, is not our identity as Christians. Hopelessness is not our bag, not our dealio. 

If we don’t call some certain, specific things to mind, we will feel very hopeless. 

So let’s make sure we call these things to mind - daily! Get that Bible open every day! Pray to your good Father every day! Trust Him and believe Him and grow in Him every day!

 

No matter what, we can choose to say, “But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope.” 

 

Verse 22 - It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed, because His (tender) compassions never fail.

 

Yeah, there is a whole slew of hope here. These are our promises as we wrap up 2021 and look toward 2022. On the last day of the year, these words are true. And on the first day of the new year, they also prove true. 

Because of His lovingkindnesses (oooh, that’s a plural word! Many many lovingkindnesses are implied here! So expect a lot of them, because He promises a lot of them!) we are not consumed. We Are Not Consumed. Got that? You will not be consumed. He said it, it’s His promise to keep because He is a perfect promise maker and a perfect promise keeper. His lovingkindnesses are what you are going to see, experience, live with in 2022. 

His tender compassions never fail.

It’s enough to just say “compassions”. But God makes sure we know they are tender compassions. Your God is tender toward you.

 

Try a little tenderness, the song says.

God has the corner market on that. 

And He will never fail in his tender compassions toward His people, His children.

 

Verse 23 - They are new every morning; Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness!

 

Every. Single. Morning. 

When are God’s tender compassions new?

That’s how often. On the daily.

 

Oh this is a very remarkable promise for us. 

 

Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness, Lord Most High!

 

Just say that to Him today - tell Him out loud how good He is. How you know that you know that you know He is so, so good. 

Great is His faithfulness toward you and toward me.

It is beyond measure.

 

What’s the last thing you found to be un-measurable? Beyond measure?

The ocean? The sky? And God’s faithfulness. 

 

Can you join me in taking time, even if it’s just ten to fifteen minutes, and sit with the Lord, listening for Him to speak to you about the last year and the upcoming year. And as you sit with Him, don’t say a whole lot, mostly just listen, but do remember this great and beyond measuring faithfulness. I know you will be blessed and encouraged as you do so. 

 

Thanks for joining me today for this episode of TBNES, part of the Spark Network now playing in the Edifi app. 

 

I’d love to invite you to sign up for my email list at JanLBurt dot com where I will be sending out some info about a way to set the new year apart and dedicate it to the Lord. You can also check out my latest book, A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents, available on amazon. Not much better way to spend the first 60 days of the year than praying intentionally big prayers over our children, ya know? So grab a copy and I know it will be a lasting blessing to your family.

 

Have a wonderful day, a blessed remainder of 2021, and a very happy new year to you, my friend.

 

See ya next time for episode #89! Bye Bye.

 

Jan L. Burt is an author, speaker, podcaster, homeschooling veteran, mother to five, and has been happily married to Tony for thirty years. She served in youth ministry alongside her husband for twelve years & has led several Bible studies for women as well as hosting two online prayer retreats.

Jan is the host of the podcast “The Burt (Not Ernie) Show” & author of the new book “A 60-Day Prayer Journal for Parents” & “The Power of God’s Will – 40 Days of God’s Promises Devotional” (available on Amazon) & “The Once-A-Year Homeschool Planner” (a multi-grade, multi-subject planning system) – which can be found at JanLBurt.com. She has also been a regular contributor to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. Find Jan  Instagram: @JanLBurt or at her website JanLBurt.com or at her YouTube channel, “God’s Promises for You with Jan L. Burt”.