Lamentations 3:21-22 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.

This passage is very familiar, having been set to music, but we seldom read the first part of the chapter. Jeremiah was in really pitiful shape when he wrote this, having been severely abused by his own people and watched Jerusalem be conquered by the Babylonians. It is only in that context that these words gain their true power. This moment of spiritual clarity didn’t pull him completely out of his pity party, but it did open the door to more rational thinking. The book as a whole is hardly easy reading, but it is very valuable for anyone who thinks they are in rough circumstances. Jeremiah had it worse! The lesson we all need to take from it is precisely what Jesus said to His disciples shortly before He was arrested: “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) No matter the horrible trial we might be going through, God is still God, and He loves us. We have no idea the good He is going to work through what we are experiencing, but we can rest assured that it’s going to happen. (Romans 8:28) Right now America is in turmoil because of the recent election, with some people rejoicing and some people thinking the world is going to fall apart. Whichever side of that you might be on, you need to remember what God spoke to Jeremiah, and take hope. Our perception of what is good and right is often skewed, and we need to let Him show us what He is doing, allowing Him to change us as we need it. Objective truth always trumps feelings, however intense those feelings might be. The objective truth is that God is God, and He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us. (John 3:16) With that foundation for our awareness, everything else fades into insignificance.

In recent days I have been distressed that people I love and respect have been on the “other side” in terms of the election. Even as I have trouble grasping how they could be that way, I need to keep remembering that God loves them as much as He does me. There are an awful lot of people on the “other side,” and both grace and clarity are called for. I need to let God show me what the facts actually are, since some “trusted news sources” have manifestly been lying all along, and I need to keep speaking the truth in love. I have a Japanese friend who has been calling me every day to get me to explain the situation to him, since Japanese media have left him terribly confused. He of course had no voice in the election, but what happens in America greatly influences the rest of the world. I am to ask and allow God to guide my words so that I don’t mislead, and so that my own thinking will be grounded in truth as God sees it. After all, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Father, thank You for this reminder. Help me stay focused first of all on the truth of Your love, so that all of my interactions may reflect Christ, for the salvation of my hearers and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!