Saturday, May 31, 2014

Remembrance and Humbled Lamentations 3:20

As Jeremiah remembers his affliction, misery, wormwood and gall, he is affected within his soul. In verse twenty he told of the result of his inward troubles where he wrote:

My soul has them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

The verse begins, “My soul has them still in remembrance,...” It is one thing for Jeremiah to feel deep seated emotions because of his circumstances, and it is quite another to know that his soul was remembering his sufferings over and over again. It was not as though he could forget them because he was living in the continuance of the situation that brought these horrible conditions upon him. Rather than being able to dismiss his memories, they haunted him every day.

The verse goes on to say, “...and is humbled in me.” What was the result of Jeremiah's remembering his afflictions? It “humbled” him which means it “sunk him down” and “bowed him” as if it was toward the ground. There was no room for pride in Jeremiah's soul because his circumstances lowered him to a state of chagrin and disgrace.

Have we ever been humbled by our situations or circumstances? Have there been places of pride that have been far removed because we were chagrined or embarrassed in our lives? Maybe decisions were made that brought us into unfortunate circumstances that were made by others and now our lives are affected by them. As we ponder this verse, perhaps it will help us to remember how Jesus humbled Himself in His sufferings and death on the cross, and we should consider what Jesus said as recorded in the gospel of Matthew in chapter twenty-three and verse twelve:

And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.

May the Lord lead us to glory in nothing other than God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son, and may the remembrance of that keep us in a humbled state within our souls at all times.

Next time we see how Jeremiah recalls these things, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
 
Until tomorrow...there is more...
 
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore




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