A Long Week

Dec 20 2024 - Eric Buresh

It’s been a long week (or several weeks). As I sit down for my time with the Lord this morning, I feel beaten down, worn out, discouraged, and yes, old. It’s time to do a little preaching to myself (what David calls meditation in the Word). I turn to one of the darkest books in the Bible, Lamentations, and find where (chapter 3:19-33) Jeremiah, when he was beaten down, worn out and discouraged, preached to himself. While this is just me preaching to me, maybe it will help you preach to you at some point: 

I see your weariness—the bitterness you feel, the heaviness you carry. It is not imagined, nor should it be dismissed. Like Jeremiah, you taste the wormwood and the gall, and your soul is humbled within you. Do not run away from your feelings, they are real, and they matter. Bring them honestly before your God who invites you to pour out your heart before Him. He is near to the brokenhearted, and He will not turn you away. 

Yet, dear soul, do not dwell solely on your grief. There is a turning point, a lifeline for your weary heart. Jeremiah said, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” Now it is your turn. Remember who God is. Preach it to yourself. 

Start here: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.” Look around you. You are still here, still breathing, still held in His care. Your weariness has not consumed you, because His mercies have sustained you. Do not take these mercies for granted. Every beat of your heart, every breath in your lungs, every moment you have strength to endure—these are tokens of His faithfulness. Be thankful! 

And His compassions, dear soul, “fail not.” They “are new every morning.” Yesterday may have emptied you, but today is filled with fresh mercies. He has given you exactly what you need to make it through this day, and He will do the same tomorrow. You know this truth. Let it settle into your heart: “Great is thy faithfulness.” 

You may not understand why these times come but take comfort in the promise that “the Lord will not cast off forever.” Though He allows struggles, He does so with compassion, according to the abundance of His mercy. God does not afflict you lightly or willingly. He weeps with you as you gasp for air. He is working something greater than you can see, shaping you through the very pain you wish to escape. 

Hold on to this hope, dear soul: your troubles are not meaningless. They are tools in the hand of the Master, shaping you into a masterpiece for glory. They are not permanent, for He will not let struggle have the final word. One day, the burdens will fall away, and you will stand before Him, fully redeemed. On that day, you will declare with joy: “Great is thy faithfulness!”