Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Lamentations 3:22-33

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." ²⁵ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. ²⁶ It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. ²⁷ It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. ²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him; ²⁹ let him put his mouth in the dust-- there may yet be hope; ³⁰ let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults. ³¹ For the Lord will not cast off forever, ³² but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; ³³ for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. (Lam　3:22　ESV)

Have you ever noticed how long it takes to cross the highway at the intersection of Stewart road just down the street? We moved this last week and made many trips back and forth. It is amazing how long you have to wait before it is clear to cross that intersection. We pulled up to the intersection the other night and Laurie said, "This is what I did all day today, I waited." We don’t like to wait do we? We even choose our driving routes to avoid waiting. What about waiting at the checkout line at Wal-Mart? Why do they have what seems like 99 checkout lanes if they only use three of them. So, we wait in the checkout line, we wait at the doctor’s office, the pharmacy, the bank, and many other places. Do you like to wait? I know I don’t. We love fast food because there is no waiting. Even cell phone commercials sell us on speed and less waiting. We are a society that wants what we want now and we aren’t very tolerant when we have to wait. We are a society of instant gratification. Are we just as impatient when we wait on God? If you have ever waited for God to answer a prayer or fill a need, then you know what I mean. Waiting on God can be very frustrating. You may even feel He is either not listening or it is taking much longer than what we think it should. We get discouraged and think our answer is not coming at all. We have something in common with the people in Jerusalem.

The people in Jerusalem do not like to wait either. The only difference was they stopped waiting on the Lord. Just as we may choose a different driving route to avoid waiting. The people of Jerusalem choose a different route in idolatry to avoid waiting. Jeremiah stands firm in his call for the people of Jerusalem to repent and return to the Lord and His forgiveness. Jeremiah’s continuous calls fall on deaf ears. Like an errant child God punishes the people of Jerusalem. They are defeated by the Babylonians again while Zedekiah is king. Jeremiah never gives up prophesying and calling to repentance. He feels as though he is just beating his head against a wall. His efforts seem hopeless. Let’s read it in his words on page 688 in your pew bible, Lamentations chapter 3 verses 16 - 20. "He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; ¹⁷ my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; ¹⁸ so I say, "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD." ¹⁹ Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! ²⁰ My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me." It sounds like he is at the end of his rope to me. He sounds tired of waiting for the Lord but yet he is faithful and waits.

Let’s look at the Gospel lesson for today. Jairus is a ruler of the synagogue with stature and influence. Therefore he is probably accustomed to things getting done quickly without waiting. Instead of tending to his daughter through traditional ways he waits on the Lord. He put aside all his pride and sought out this man Jesus who he heard healed people.

Also in the gospel lesson for today you see a woman who waited for twelve years for an answer to her problem of a discharge of blood. This woman suffered for a long time; keep in mind that she was considered "unclean" during those twelve years. She waited for God to answer her prayer for healing.

All three of these people along with the people of Jerusalem are suffering and waiting. God strengthens faith and calls to repentance through grief and hardship. Waiting on the Lord through grief and hardship is a test. Jeremiah has some instructions for the people of Jerusalem and us about waiting. Right after he sounds like he is at the end of his rope his faith shines through. Verse 21 on page 688 "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:" He is looking forward to God’s faithfulness. He has hope in God’s faithfulness. Verse 24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." Now comes the shocking part that we will have a hard time with in verse 26 ^"It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD." What? It is good to wait? It sure didn’t feel like it while we were waiting at the intersection. There is a difference isn’t there. We are to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good to wait? YES, it is good to wait. Jeremiah reminds us in verse 25, "The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." And also in verse 32, "though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love." Jeremiah waits quietly for the salvation of the Lord even through his pain, suffering, and frustration. Jairus is forced to wait even longer when interrupted by the woman that touched Jesus. I can imagine an important man like Jairus thinking "come on already" but Jesus is faithful to the woman and heals her spiritually as well as physically. The Jairus hears his daughter is dead. I’m sure he thought he waited too long or that the Lord took too long. But Jesus spoke to Jairus words that we sure can use as well, "Do not fear, only believe." God is faithful to Jairus and brings his daughter back to life. "The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him."

We see war, idolatry, frustration, physical issues, and death in these passages. That sounds more like our life doesn’t it. We may not admit it but we have idols in our life. We have these pains in our life. Last week we prayed for the family of a three year old who drowned. We see people in Colorado fleeing for their life from fire. Some do not make it. Two people were found dead yesterday. There is cancer in our lives, unemployment, underemployment, surgeries, auto accidents, and so much more. There is no short supply of grief. This grief will end someday, either here on earth or in eternity because "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; ²³ they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Grief will end but the Lord’s love will not. You may be made to wait but He is faithful to you. Psalm 46:10 reminds us, "Be still and know that I am God". You see, your pains will be taken away when you are resurrected from the dead on the last day. You are given that free gift of spending eternity with Christ because Jesus bore the yoke of your sin, He sat in silence in the Garden of Gethsemane when your sins were laid on him, He put His mouth in the dirt when He was beaten and spit upon, He gave His other cheek when He was struck, and He surely was filled with insults while hanging on the cross for you. Jesus death and resurrection earned eternal life for you and me. He too was filled with grief when He cried "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me." Through His faithfulness we are forgiven our sins and we have the gift of eternal life. We have no need to fear and we can believe because He declared "it is finished!"

You may not get the answer you want or in the time you think you should get it but the Lord is faithful and He "is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him." Your answer might be the gift of endurance, learning patience, and witnessing to others through your suffering. Seek Him and wait quietly, He is your portion. As the Hymn of the day says, "Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Amen.