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Lamentations 3:24 - Hope in Jesus; Our Divine Inheritance.

Lamentations 3:24 (NIV) I say to myself, 
The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait 
for him. 

Lamentations 3:24 (NLT) I say to myself, 
The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will 
hope in him!  

INTRODUCTION

The Man Who Has Seen Affliction 
(Lamentations 3) 
   Its not very impressive when a person 
who has known nothing but blessing tries to 
comfort a sufferer. How can the rich understand 
poverty? How can the child whose parents loved him 
understand the abused? How can the woman with a husband 
and children understand the widows loss, or 
the divorcees pain? Its far more 
meaningful when we hear words of comfort from a person 
we can identify with: from a fellow sufferer. 
   This is why the authors words in 
Lamentations 3 are so powerful. He immediately identified 
himself as the man who has seen affliction. 
Here was someone who spoke about suffering from 
firsthand experience. To make sure we know he 
understood, he even went on to show how extreme his 
suffering had been. Then, when we realize that here is 
an authority, a person who can fully identify 
with us, he said, Yet this I call to mind and 
therefore I have hope: because of the LORDs great 
love we are not consumed (vv. 21"22). 
   The author of Lamentations would 
understand whatever suffering you or I are called to 
experience. And after listening to our complaint, he 
would speak bluntly to us, and say that Gods 
compassions never fail. He would remind us, They 
are new every morning, and would invite us to 
praise the LORD, telling God, great is Your 
faithfulness. 
   The author, as a man who has seen 
affliction, would give us one more piece of advice. He 
would tell us to say to ourselves, as he did when 
the pain was greatest, The LORD is my 
portion; therefore I will wait for Him. 
   As we wait in faith, we will be sustained 
by the conviction that sustained Jeremiah. We 
too know, despite everything, that the LORD 
is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the 
one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly 
for the salvation of the LORD (vv. 25"26). 
[The 365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

COMMENTARY PEARLS

   My father was a gifted talker who 
relished sharing life lessons and telling jokes. At 
family or social events, a crowd of attentive 
listeners would gather at his feet. He wasnt a 
writer, but he could weave oratorical yarns that 
would make you laugh out loud.  
   One day I visited my father in his new 
home with shiny new appliances and a new car in 
the driveway, and he made it clear that he had 
no inheritance for me. Before I leave 
here, he said, slapping a stack of bills against 
his marble table, I intend to spend every 
dollar I ever made.  
   This was my father talking, the jokester, 
so I assumed he was kidding. After all, by the 
time he took ill, Daddy was a God-fearing 
Bible-thumper who could quote Scripture from memory from 
Genesis to Revelation. He knew Proverbs 13:22: A 
good man leaves an inheritance to his 
childrens children. (NKJV)  
   Ha! It was no joke. When he died, he left 
just enough money to bury him and pay for the 
repast. I expected a house, a car, or a sizable 
check, but his shiny new possessions were returned 
to his creditors. And when the executor of my 
fathers estate said there was nothing for me, I was 
angry. After Id stewed for several weeks, Jesus 
spoke to my heart from Lamentations 3:24. I 
realized that the Lord is my portion and having a 
relationship with Him surpasses any gift that could come 
from man. I came to understand that Jesus is my 
inheritance. My abundance is in Him. by Alice Thompson  
   Faith Step: What heirloom do you want to 
leave to a loved one? Dont delay. Share it 
today. [Mornings With Jesus 2020 Devotional by 
Guideposts and Zondervan] 

   My life had been going so well. I had 
become a Christian in college and a missionary 
after that. I had married a pastor, and we adopted 
two little girls. Then things began unraveling. 
My pastor-husband had an affair and left me 
with a three-year-old and a nine-month-old 
daughter with special needs and a chronic illness 
that kept getting worse. I couldn't make the rent 
in Chicago, so I didn't think twice about 
taking a new job"a lectureship at the University 
of Oklahoma. The salary would cover rent, basic 
needs, and tuition so I could get my Ph.D. I loaded 
the girls into a U-Haul truck and made the trip 
to the university campus, only to discover that 
the school had canceled all lectureships. I had 
no job. 
   At that moment, Lamentations was the 
perfect fit as I joined Jeremiah to rant and rave 
against the unfairness of life. But then I came to 
3:21. Dare I hope? Would his mercies really never 
cease? 
   With my U-Haul still loaded, the girls at 
the nearest day-care center, and no job, I sat 
on the university's curb and remembered the 
miracle of finding Christ, seeing my family come to 
Christ, adopting my girls, the trees and oceans I'd 
sat by, knowing God was there. And I knew"God 
was still there. So was compassion. 
   I ended up calling every college and 
school in the phone book and actually piecing 
together enough teaching jobs to stay in Okla-homa. 
And I wrote"book after book, drawing often on 
specific memories of God's faithfulness. 
   Dandi Daley Mackall is the award-winning 
author of more than four hundred books for children 
and adults, including Maggie's Story, Love 
Rules, Eva Underground, Larger-Than-Life Lara, and 
the best-selling teen series Winnie the Horse 
Gentler. [The One Year Bible Live Verse Devotional] 

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

   Waiting on Me means directing your 
attention to Me in hopeful anticipation of what I will 
do. It entails trusting Me with every fiber of 
your being, instead of trying to figure things 
out yourself. Waiting on Me is the way I 
designed you to live: all day, every day. I created 
you to stay conscious of Me as you go about your 
daily duties.   
   I have promised many blessings to those 
who wait on Me: renewed strength, living above 
one's circumstances, resurgence of hope, awareness 
of My continual Presence. Waiting on Me enables 
you to glorify Me by living in deep dependence 
on Me, ready to do My will. It also helps you 
to enjoy Me; in My Presence is fullness of Joy. 
(Lam. 3:24-26; Isa. 40:31; Psa. 16:11) [Jesus 
Calling by Sarah Young] 

   As you look into the day that stretches 
out before you, you see many choice-points along 
the way. The myriad possibilities these choices 
present can confuse you. Draw your mind back to the 
threshold of this day, where I stand beside you, 
lovingly preparing you for what is ahead.  
   You must make your choices one at a time, 
since each is contingent upon the decision that 
precedes it. Instead of trying to create a mental map 
of your path through this day, focus on My 
loving Presence with you. I will equip you as you 
go, so that you can handle whatever comes your 
way. Trust Me to supply what you need when you 
need it. (Lam. 3:22-26; Psa. 34:8) [Jesus Calling 
by Sarah Young] 

YOUR COMMENTS

If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or 
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either 
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in 
hearing from you.  Thanks in advance and let's keep 
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred 
Gibbs  

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

Most Important Decision in Life: 
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 

A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo 

Seeking God Made Real: 
http://vimeo.com/31489782 

Prayer Made Real: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE 

Importance of Choice: 
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]  

Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David 
DeRose, MD, MPH: 
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart 

LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES 

Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: 
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ 

Amazing Facts Bible Studies: 
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx  

Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides: 
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2 

Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: 
http://www.bibleresearch.info/ 

LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS

Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of 
Adventist World Radio (currently live): 
https://bible.awr.org/the-warning/ 

Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: 
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens 

The Last Day of Prophecy by Pastor Doug 
Batchelor: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmGvdtMCf1aJTiC59-lPtuUMEq_uEn0BK