Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Steve W. Reeves
stevesermons.blogspot.com
INTRODUCTION:
A. A
large, prominent city was reduced to ruins. Stately buildings that reflected the most beautiful
architecture in history and the most extravagant
materials in the world were reduced to piles of
smoldering rubble. Amid the ruins lay the mangled corpses of soldiers, men, women,
children and babies. The stench of decaying flesh filled the air and a solitary figure
made his way through the horror. Only a handful of his contemporaries had escaped
and they had been taken captive…What was this man to do? What could he possibly
say? This city had been God’s city, Jerusalem. Listen to the words of this man,
Jeremiah, in Lamentations 3:1-23.
B. We hear the word “unfaithful” far more that we hear the word “faithful” in today’s
world. Most of us know too well the feelings that come when someone breaks a
promise to us.
1. We know the hurt, betrayal, sadness and anger.
2. Many people find it difficult to trust anyone, including God.
a. Someone has promised to keep an appointment and does not do so.
b. Someone has promised to deliver goods or services and does not do so.
c. Someone promises faithfulness, loyalty and allegiance and betrays you.
3. These are experiences that affect everyone.
C. God stands in stark contrast to the broken promises of this world.
1. Psalm 36: 5 – “Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.”
2. Psalm 56:3 – “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”
3. Psalm 62:8 – “Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart
before Him; God is a refuge for us.”
4. Psalm 119:90 – “Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You
established the earth, and it stands.”
5. Proverbs 3:5-6- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean
on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.”
D God never makes a promise He doesn’t keep. He never makes a covenant He does
not honor. The question is “How do we understand God’s faithfulness in a world
racked with pain and suffering?”
1. This was a question with which Jeremiah wrestled.
2. This is what we need to learn about God’s faithfulness.
I. THE PRESENCE OF SUFFERING DOES NOT MEAN THE ABSENCE OF GOD.
A. Almost 600 years before Christ was born the clouds of war overshadowed the
kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. In 586 B.C. the brutal Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar and his fierce army completely decimated Jerusalem.
1. The book of Lamentations is the poetic record of Jeremiah, a prophet of God
who suffered severely during the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah was a first-
hand witness to the horrendous conditions that existed during this time.
2. In Lamentations 2:9-10 Jeremiah provided this description of Jerusalem’s
condition. “Her gates have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken
her bars. Her king and her princes are among the nations; The law is no more,
her prophets find no vision from the Lord. 10 The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground, they are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads; They
have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed
their heads to the ground.”
a. This was complete destruction. The gates had been destroyed. The city’s
defenses were in ruin.
b. The Royal authorities were no more.
c. The law had been forsaken and prophets abandoned. There was no
revelation from God and the elders of the city had been silenced.
3. But, it gets worse. Chapter 2:12 describes the hunger that existed because there
was nothing to eat or drink. People staggered and fell as wounded animals in
the streets. Even the infants on their mother’s bosom were prey.
B. For Jeremiah the anguish was not merely physical. It was spiritual. Who was
behind this curtain of suffering?
1. In the movie, “The Wizard of Oz” there is a scene where Dorothy, the
Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion bring the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the
West to the Wizard of Oz. As they approach him in a room filled with smoke, fire
and booming sound the little dog, Toto, discovered a man hiding behind a
curtain. It turns out that he is actually the Wizard of Oz.
2. Who is behind the curtain of Jerusalem? Was it Nebuchadnezzar or the evil
one? They were both involved of course, but the one behind the curtain was
God.
a. God is not evil. However, He is sovereign. He had promised His people that
their continued rejection of Him would result in their destruction. He allowed
the evil of Nebuchadnezzar and his forces to bring about that judgment.
b. At the beginning of the book (1:5) Jeremiah said, “Her adversaries have
become her masters, Her enemies prosper; For the Lord has caused her
grief.”
c. In 1:12 he cried, “Look and see if there is any pain like my pain which was
severely dealt out to me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of His fierce
anger.”
d. In 2:17 – “The Lord has done what He purposed. He has accomplished His
word which He commanded from days of old. He has thrown down without
sparing, And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted
the might of your adversaries.”
C. Let me re-iterate. God is not the source of evil. He is not the source of pain,
heartache and tears. However, He can use these things to accomplish His
purposes.
1. William Cowper (1731-1800) wrote the hymn, God Moves In A Mysterious Way,
in which he said, “He plants His footsteps in the sea.”
2. We do not see His footsteps. We do not know all of the ways He moves behind
the scenes but we can be assured of His presence.
II. TEMPORARY SITUATIONS DOES NOT NEGATE ETERNAL REALITY.
A. An older woman, suffering from a serious illness, was asked about her favorite
passage of scripture. She replied, “I like the passages that say, “It came to pass.”
When asked why she liked these verses she said, “Because it doesn’t say, ‘It came
to stay.”
B. In the midst of his agony and suffering, Jeremiah found comfort in the reality that
God’s faithfulness endures in all situations.
1. You cannot ignore or deny Jeremiah’s situation. It was serious, frightening,
discouraging, heartbreaking, and threatening.
2. He describes his feelings in verses 19-20 - “Remember my affliction and my
wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is
bowed down within me.”
3. You may be facing a situation you cannot deny. It may be a health issue, a
financial issue, a family problem, a work-related matter or some other pressing
crisis.
C. In Lamentations 3:21 there is a noticeable shift in Jeremiah’s outlook. Surrounded
by the suffering and bitterness, He remembers a remarkable reality.
1. Lamentations 3:21 – “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.”
2. Jeremiah said, “this I know.” He turned from feelings to facts.
a. How did he feel? Bitter, depressed, lonely, discouraged.
b. Here in verse 21 he says, “In the midst of these feelings I remembered a
concrete, indisputable, unshakable fact that is beyond a shade of a shadow of
an intimation of a doubt.
3. Here it is. “The Lord’s lovingkindness indeed never ceases, For His compassion
never fails. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” .
D. The suffering was temporary. God promised Jeremiah it would be temporary. The
benefit of the suffering was lasting and real.
1. The greatest lessons we learn in life are not the ones that come by avoiding
suffering. They are the lessons we learn through suffering.
2. A surgical procedure, like heart surgery, is not a pleasant experience. However,
it produces benefits that far outweigh the discomfort of the procedure.
3. Consider Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith, who, for the joy set before Him, endured the cross despising its shame
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
III. CHANGING TIMES NEED AN UNCHANGING GOD.
A. The USS George H.W. Bush is the last of 10 Nimitz Class Nuclear powered
aircraft carriers. The size of this vessel is staggering. It stands 20 stories above
the waterline with a 4.5-acre flight deck. It is 1,092 feet long: nearly as long as the
Empire State Building is tall. There are four bronze propellers, each 21 feet across
and weighing more than 30 tons. Steering is accomplished by two rudders, each
29 feet by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons. Each of the two anchors weighs 60,000
pounds. Each link of anchor chain weighs 365 pounds. Each anchor and chain
weighs a total of 735,000 pounds. A large ship needs substantial anchors.
B. Jeremiah knew who his anchor was.
1. As his world literally collapsed around him he held on to the only thing that he
knew would never fail.
2. This is why He said (vs. 23), “The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore I
will hope in Him.”
C. For the writer of Hebrews writing to beleaguered, persecuted Christians 650 years
later the hope was the same. “Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and
forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
CONCLUSION:
A. What is our greatest testimony to the world? Jeremiah teaches us that our greatest
testimony to the world does not come in times of prosperity, wealth, ease and
freedom from pain. Rather, it comes in times of hardship and suffering as we
remember the faithfulness of God. When the world sees how we deal with suffering
they have a clear picture of who we are.
B. The British composer Henry Lyte wrote, “Change and decay in all around I see. O,
Thou who changes not, abide with me.” Does He abide with you and do you abide in
Him?
