Lamentations 3:25-26 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Any time we read Lamentations it’s important to remember the horrendous circumstances under which it was written. Modern warfare can certainly be horrible, but precisely because they didn’t have guns and explosives back then, war was intensely personal. In most cases you saw the person who killed you, which is the opposite of today’s drone strikes. Jeremiah had lived through that, and he was faced with the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem after a very long siege. Detailing the horrors he experienced isn’t perhaps necessary, but we do need to have some sort of grasp of the level of faith expressed in this third chapter. We need to let the truth expressed here work its way into our hearts and minds so that we can have peace and stability regardless of what is going on around us. That is a treasure indeed!

What we have gone through in the past month is no comparison to the horrors of war, but it has been training in faith nonetheless. We have been faced with seemingly insurmountable circumstances one after another, and have seen the Lord get us through them. Last night I called the owner of the land next door to give him a report on all we are doing to move forward toward getting through all the red tape involved in our purchasing the land, and he spent virtually the entire call emphasizing how it was hopeless for us. I stood firm, without lashing out at him more than to say at one point that he had already made himself very clear, but at the end of the call I was tied in knots, to put it lightly. However, just a few minutes later he called me back and said that he was working on what amounts to an end run around the regulations about the sale of agricultural land, applying to get it re-zoned as non-agricultural. He emphasized that such applications are rarely approved, but it is certainly true that the land in question has not been used for agriculture since the end of WWII at least. If that application is approved, then he can simply sell the land to the church, no questions asked, and what we do with the land after that is entirely our business, with no time pressure. That would be welcome indeed! However, my focus isn’t to be on the land, the owner, the bureaucracy, or any plans involving all of that. My focus is to be on my Lord, who owns it all and has it all under control. On this last day of the year I need to remind myself and others of the goodness of God, and place my hope and my expectation entirely in Him.

Father, thank You for this reminder. I ask for guidance, wisdom and strength for all that today holds. Help us get each thing done in turn, leading up to a very blessed Watch Night Service tonight. May we all focus our hearts and our minds on You, allowing You to do in and through us all that You desire and intend, so that we may be prepared for all that You have for us in the new year, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!