Hope When Wandering

… his compassions never fail.

Lamentations 3:22a

Lamentations, in the Old Testament of the Bible, includes laments, or songs of sorrow, of the Israelites’ while suffering in captivity in Babylon. Even during suffering, Jeremiah, the probable author, concludes one lament with words of hope as he trusts in God’s plan.

This hope in God’s mercy provided the very thing I clung to during the increasing distress of my narcissistic relationship. As positive interactions waned and the devaluing remarks increased, I felt like the Jews in Babylon as they “wandered in a strange land.” Nothing in my relationship or in my world felt familiar.

After disengaging from the narcissist, that same feeling of wandering and exile followed me through the early years of regrouping and rebuilding my life. The concluding words of Lamentations 3 guides my heart to the hope required for re-envisioning my life.

Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we

are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lam. 3:21-23

Just as God returned the exiled Jews to their homeland, He guided me back to my lost identity. He also still proves that His compassions never fail. They are, indeed, new every morning.

Father, observing human emotions in scripture affirms my own. The author of Lamentation’s sensitivity and skill with language draws me to an eternal truth—Your faithfulness is available each new morning. Open my eyes to each compassionate gift of love and care. In the name of Jesus, the ultimate Compassionate Gift, I pray, amen.

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