Lamentations 3:22 – 26 “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.” 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
During Jeremiah’s forty years of ministry as a prophet, he witnessed the devastation of Jerusalem and was carried off into exile in Egypt by people who refused to listen to him when he warned that the Babylonians would invade Egypt also. The very people who had refused to listen to Jeremiah now bombarded him with complaints; meanwhile, it was their sins and the sins of their fathers that had caused God to finally allow their country to be overrun. Jeremiah had every reason to become bitter at people and at God, but he chose to respond differently. Throughout all of these sufferings, Jeremiah never lost his faith in the goodness of God. Here Jeremiah was pointing out to anybody who would listen that they were only alive because of the goodness of God.
People in an earlier generation were fond of saying that “where there’s life, there is hope.” (I tried to identify the original source of this quote but I failed.) As long as we are alive, there is the potential for change, for growth, and for unexpected wonderful things to happen.
You may feel that there is little or no hope in your situation and that nothing is going to change. But as long as you are alive, you have one golden opportunity: you can help encourage others and help others. In the stress of the holiday season, your smile and kind words may be the brightest part of the day for an overworked clerk at a convenience store. It doesn’t cost lots of money to be a Salvation Army bell ringer, and the money you help raise can do a great deal. If you have clothing, is there a warm coat or gloves or mittens that you could share with someone else? Do you have an extra blanket that would protect someone at the local homeless shelter? Can you help babysit your neighbor’s children so that they can leave to do Christmas shopping? Perhaps this is the year when you need to teach your kids that Christmas is not merely about getting but more about giving. Are there toys that your kids no longer play with that could be given to a homeless shelter for kids there? If you are looking for God to guide you, remember that an object at rest tends to remain at rest. You can’t guide a stationary object because it has no momentum. Helping others produces momentum and helps you.
7 Scientific Benefits of Helping Others https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/71964/7-scientific-benefits-helping-others
HELPING OTHERS CAN HELP YOU LIVE LONGER.
ALTRUISM (Thinking of others) IS CONTAGIOUS.
HELPING OTHERS MAKES US HAPPY.
HELPING OTHERS MAY HELP WITH CHRONIC PAIN.
HELPING OTHERS LOWERS BLOOD PRESSURE.
HELPING OTHERS PROMOTES POSITIVE BEHAVIORS IN TEENS.
HELPING OTHERS GIVES US A SENSE OF PURPOSE AND SATISFACTION.
PRAYER: Dear God, thank you that your mercies are new every morning and that you are a faithful God. Thank you that even though our situations may appear bleak, you are still with us. Help us to reach out and help those around us. Enlighten our darkness, and give us hope. In the Name of your Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
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