Dear Trinity Families,
Here is your WELS Devotion
Though [the LORD] brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.
Lamentations 3:32,33
He Will Show Compassion
One internet meme of endless variety is parents sharing the reasons their children are crying. It’s usually a picture of a two-year-old in full-blown meltdown with a simple caption.
“I won’t let him run into the middle of the road.”
“She found out the Golden Gate Bridge isn’t actually golden.”
“The daffodils are gone, and I can’t bring them back.”
You can understand the dynamics of parents wanting the best for their children, arranging things for their children’s benefit, and the children not understanding why they can’t have what they want or expect. When it’s two-year-olds, it’s often a little funny and a little sad at the same time.
If you can understand that dynamic, you can begin to understand how “the Lord brings grief” and “he does not willingly bring grief.”
The Lord wants the best for you. His love is unfailing. Above all, he wants you and everyone else to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth in Jesus Christ.
So he arranges things for your benefit and the benefit of everyone else. He knows that how he arranges things may cause you grief. Grieving is not pleasant, and he does not want you to grieve like someone who has no hope, so he promises to comfort you in your grief.
When you cannot have something you want or expect, it’s not easy. It can seem like a pretty big affliction, and you may wonder why the Lord allows it. All of his reasons may not be perfectly clear, but he wants you to know that he has your best interests in mind, and he will show you compassion.
He has already shown you compassion by sending Jesus, and he will continue to show you compassion in many ways every day. Life can be funny, or sad, or exasperating, but through it all, the Lord’s great love is unfailing.
Prayer:
Lord, help me see past the grief to your love and compassion through Jesus Christ. Amen.
God bless,
Lynn