Scripture Reading
Lamentations 3:19-33 (Septuagint)
19 I remembered by reason of poverty my bitterness and gall.
20 My soul shall remember and meditate within me.
21 This will I lay up in my heart; therefore will I endure.
22 It is through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed—because His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.
25 The Lord is good to them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
26 It is good for a man to wait and quietly hope for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bears a yoke in his youth.
28 He will sit alone and be silent, because he has taken it upon himself.
29 He will put his mouth in the dust, if so be there is hope.
30 He will give his cheek to the smiter; he will be filled with reproaches.
31 For the Lord will not cast off forever.
32 For though He afflicts, He will have compassion according to the multitude of His mercy.
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men.
Devotional Reflection
In the heart of Lamentations—this book of poetic grief—there is a breathtaking pause. Amid pain, the writer lifts his head and remembers:
“The Lord’s mercies are not exhausted. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning.”
This is not denial of pain.
It is not sugarcoating reality.
It is the deeper reality shining through the clouds of suffering—that God is faithful even when all else feels broken.
The poet encourages us to wait for the Lord quietly.
To sit with sorrow, not in despair, but in anticipation.
To believe that mercy will come—again and again.
For those of us preparing to enter Lent, this passage whispers a holy truth:
Repentance is not hopeless.
Affliction is not final.
Mourning is not the last word.
God’s mercies are new every morning—
including this one.
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You are faithful even when we are weary.
Teach us to wait for You—not with clenched fists, but with open hearts.
As we walk through valleys, help us remember that Your compassions are never spent.
Renew us today with Your mercy.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,
Amen.