Saturday, October 3, 2026
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Historical Context
Lamentations is a collection of five poems mourning the destruction of Jerusalem, torn apart by an invading army between 587 and 586 BC. The poems were written afterward, once the siege had ended, though its memory was still fresh. The temple was gone, and the king, the nobles, the priests, and the prophets who had led the nation were disgraced along with it.
The third poem begins with a man describing his suffering in stark terms. He said God had walled him in and made his chains heavy. He said his cries for help went unheard, that God would not listen. He said his strength had given out, along with any hope he once had that the LORD would come through for him. This was someone who had run out of reasons to expect anything good.
Then, right before today’s verse, he said that recalling one thing gave him hope again. Nothing around him had changed yet.
Reflection
The point is plain: God’s love has not run out, and it does not arrive worn down from the day before. Every morning, it is new again.
The poem does not say the speaker’s situation had improved. The city was still destroyed, and he continued to grieve for many verses after this point. He chose to remember something true first, before anything around him changed. He brought it to mind even though nothing he could see gave him a reason to hope.
You do not need your circumstances to turn around before you allow yourself to hope. Wherever you are today, you can remember what has held true before, and let that be your starting point.