Not Consumed

Lamentations 3:22 NIV “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.”

This verse is part of a greater section of Lamentations that I adore. This chapter starts off very grim. The author of this writing, Jeremiah, laments all the things afflicting him. He mentions being mocked, deprived of peace, bitter and depressed, physically in pain, and terrified. It is a crushing passage to read.

Then, the mood changes as Jeremiah calls something to mind, or shub, which in Hebrew means to turn back or return. In other words, he deliberately stops his depressing descent by thinking or returning to truths he already knows, which allows something incredible to happen: hope.

The great truth he claims is that the Lord is so tenderhearted that we are not consumed—the Hebrew word for consumed means finished, spent, destroyed, ended, and gone. When I hear consume, I think of fire, utterly destroying everything. This verse says we aren’t consumed because His compassions never end. This verse creates a great visual, as the word compassion is the Hebrew word racham, which literally means womb. Symbolically, there is no greater tender love than that of a mother to an infant. That merciful love from God is like a womb, protecting and preventing total consumption.

Not only does it never end, but compassion is new every morning. Verse 23 says, “They [His compassions] are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Just like the rays of the sun burst forth anew every morning, God’s love and compassion start fresh each day.

Finally, Jeremiah adds, “I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’” When I think of portions, I think of food, and I can’t help but link food portions with the notion that Christ is the bread of life. He says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” John 6:35. This completes my understanding of this promise, and something I claim in dark times.

In his faithfulness, Christ surrounds me with his protective love to keep me from being consumed and reminds me that HE is enough. I can endure anything as I wait because tomorrow his mercies will be new again.