I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. Proverbs 4:11.

A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way? Proverbs 20:24.

I loved this excerpt today from My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers: “Do I trust at all in the flesh? Or have I learned to go beyond all confidence in myself and other people of God? Do I trust in books and prayers or other joys in my life? Or have I placed my confidence in God Himself, not in His blessings? “I am Almighty God” – El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God (Genesis 17:1). The reason we are all being disciplined is that we will know God is real. As soon as God becomes real to us, people pale by comparison, becoming shadows of reality. Nothing that other saints do or say can ever upset the one who is built on God.”

As I read our chapter, Lamentations 3, I couldn’t help but think about all that Jeremiah experienced. For decades he had been warning Judah all that Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, had been telling him would come to pass because of Judah’s grievous sins. And it all happened. And now he is living among the ruins and he knows from God it will be 70 years of captivity. All in his lifetime. And he shares how he feels. I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, He has turned His hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead. 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. v. 1-9. Jeremiah was faithful to God and he lived through all the consequences the sins of Judah brought. When you see the world you know choosing to go the way of evil, how can your soul not cry tears of sorrow for what is and for what will be? The way of evil brings only cruel hardship. Jeremiah knew that – because God is faithful to warn us not to choose that way. I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 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. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” 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. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust – there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For no one is 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 anyone. v. 19-33. God is faithful to warn. God is faithful to redeem. I called on Your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: “Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.” You came near when I called You, and You said, “Do not fear.” v. 55-57. In coming to know God, we come to understand that we are held safe in Him no matter what happens. When we behold Him, we can bear all things this world throws at us. When this world grows dark, remember God’s goodness. His love will light the way forward and we will be in His peace because our hope is in Him, Almighty God – El-Shaddai, the All-Powerful God. Everything else pales by comparison. And by His light we see light! Psalm 36:9.