“LORD, Rescue The Penitent!”

“LORD, Rescue The Penitent!”(Lam.1:1-12).
We are blessed with another day of grace. To God be the glory.
The author of Lamentations is anonymous, although some attribute authorship to prophet Jerrmiah.
Whoever the poet of Lamentations was, he did not see the Babylonian captivity, and the desolation of Jerusalem as the mere political might of one nation over the other. It was the hand of God punishing the one he loved because of her sins.
The poet acknowledged, “Jerusalem has sinned greatly, and so has become unclean. All who honoured her despises her, for they have all seen her naked, she herself groans and turns away.”
This is actually the woes of any flirt. Those who have seen her nakedness can unashamedly call her a “public toilet.”
Jeremiah prophesied during the reigns of about five kings of Judah. At one time, Judah flirted with Assyria, considering her a political heavyweight to ally with. At another time, Judah flirted with Egypt, who was a powerful kingdom at the time.
Jeremiah was confident that Judah did not need any of those flirtations currying favour from any of those kingdoms. Jeremiah warned, “Why do you go about so much changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were with Assyria. You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the Lord has rejected those you trust, you will not be helped by them”(Jer2:36-37).
True to this prophecy, the very people Judah trusted abandoned her at the time she needed them most. Hence the lament, “Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among her lovers, there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.”
Misfortunes may come upon us when we abandon the way of the LORD. The allies we flirt with, thinking they can back us against our foes, are themselves empty vessels. In his anger, God uses those very enemies to punish us. At such moments, our foes become our masters, and our enemies are at ease.
When we walk away from God and affliction comes on us, we must come to this point of realisation: “The LORD has brought us grief because of our many sins.”
This realisation is like the dawn of a new day. The solution is to turn back to the LORD. “Look, LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed.”
My friend, the LORD, the compassionate God, will not allow the enemy to have the last word over a repentant heart.
Let us strive for intentional and purposeful living in obedience to the LORD.
Prayer of the day and week: Heavenly Father, have mercy on us in the name of Christ. May your Spirit guide our steps on your way. Amen!
Welcome back to a new working day and week! Have a blessed working day and week! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.
25/08/2025.