3:23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
3:24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope
in him."
3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that
seeks him.
3:26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of
the LORD.
3:27 It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth,
3:28 to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it,
3:29 to put one's mouth to the dust (there may yet be hope),
3:30 to give one's cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults.
3:31 For the Lord will not reject forever.
3:32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to
the abundance of his steadfast love;
3:33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.
If the Lord "causes grief" but "does not willingly afflict or grieve
anyone" does God act against his own will? As a parent I understand
the old adage "This discipline hurts me as much as it hurts you." Is
that what this psalm is talking about?
What about griefs that are apparently random or undeserved? Does God
unwillingly "cause grief" then, or is it from another source? Are we
expected to wait quietly for that grief to pass? Or is it right to
be like the father in Mark 5 who begs repeatedly for Jesus to come
and heal his daughter?
Pondering Pastor in PA
JW in WI to Pondering Pastor in PA
I hope you haven't abandoned this passage. I can't stop meditating
on it.
As a parent, you understand not wanting to cause grief, but having
to in order to bring correction or to strengthen. Does a football
coach want to cause grief to his team or does he want to strengthen
them? And isn't "grief" or "struggle" the only way to grow strong.
The Lord brings grief (even "apparently random or undeserved" griefs)
for a wide variety of reasons. He tests us (to show us what we're
made of), He strengthens us.
One other thing God does. I read of a woman whose husband and son
had died. Years later, she drove past a playground and saw a man and
his son playing together. The boy was the same age her son would be
had he not died. She wept and cried out to God, "Will I ever get
over this grief?" He said, "No. Not totally. If you do, you can
never help others grieving as you are." From this, she took her cue
from God and began ministering to others in grief.
Here, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 is helpful.
Peace, Pastor.
Although this is called Lamentations...
this part isn't quite so much a lament, esp vv31-33
Doug in Erie
For Pondering Pastor in PA:
I think we have to distinguish between (a) the ability to grieve,
which enables us to deal emotionally with troubles and tragedies,
especially with the death of a loved one; and (b)the tragedies
themselves. We use the noun "grief" for both. But the former (a) is
a gift from God. The latter (b) is what God does not willingly
inflict on anyone.
Roger Newton, alsom from PA (Philadelphia).
