When Worry Seems Legit

July 23, 2024

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;[ his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23 ESV

The fall of Jerusalem and the exile was the most horrific catastrophe in Israel’s history up to this point. God had promised Abraham the land of Canaan. David won a great victory to make Jerusalem Israel’s capital. This city is where the kings from the line of David lived, where Solomon built the temple for Israel’s God, and where the priests maintained the rituals of Israel’s worship. After 500 years of all this history, in the summer of 587 B.C.E., after years of disobedience and wandering from God, the city fell to the cruel and powerful Babylonians. They had no king, no homeland, many were killed, the military destroyed, and the rest of them were captives. Everything they had counted on was lost.

Lamentations is a book of five poems of reflection following all of this destruction. If anyone had legitimate cause to worry, this author did. The first chapters are full of pain-wracked details. The author said, “When I think about it, my heart is bowed down. I am overcome.” But then he made a shift. He deliberately decided to shift his brain to a new path. He “called to mind hope.” He chose a new thought pattern. We can too. When worry seems totally natural and legit, we have choices:

We can deliberately call to mind the “steadfast love of the Lord which never ceases” (v. 22). Worry gives no space to good moments. It skips the times God was faithful to us in the past. Fight back by purposefully remembering what God has done for you.

We can live in the present. God’s mercies are “new every morning” (v. 23). They are for us today. Start listing aloud the goodness of God that you are overlooking in your life right now.

We can declare our certain future: “The Lord is my portion” (Lamentations 3:24 ESV). We always have Jesus, now and forever. We will never be alone. Even if the worst does happen, we have the King. It helps me to say aloud to myself, “I can live and fight confidently because He will never leave me – I am not alone.”

• God, You are so good and kind. You get me. You know that worry tends to be my unhelpful response to hard situations. Help me respond in faithful remembrance and confident hope. You are always good.