My Journey to Africa: Consuming Love

"Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail."

Lamentations 3:22

I came across this verse in the fall when I was reading through the Old Testament. This verse really just hit me, I really like the wording they use in the NIV translation. In the NIV it says “we are not consumed” but in some other translations such as the ESV it says “never ceases”.

It is because of God’s great love for us that we are not consumed by sin, there is freedom because of his love. In John 8:34 it says that “everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” So how do we become free from sin? God sent the solution to that! John 8:36 “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” When God sent Jesus, He sent away for us to be free. There are so many things in the world that could easily consume us we are so easily entangled by sin, and we become consumed with things of this world instead of thing of God. Without God’s love and God’s help it would be impossible for us to live in freedom from things of this world.

The last part of the verse is something that I am always having to remind myself. God’s compassion never fails. Even though we live in a broken world and sometimes God allows terrible things to happen to those He loves He stills feels compassion for them He hurts when we hurt. When Lazarus dies, Jesus wept not because He was sad He’d never see Lazarus again, for He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He wept because he felt compassion for Lazarus’ sisters. God knows that all things will work together for good (Romans 8:28). Yet He feels compassion for us while we are in a season for broken heartedness.

God’s compassion will never fail. God is close to the broken hearted, and weeps when we weep.