If you've ever been so overwhelmed by sorrow that you couldn't speak, you can begin to understand the emotions of Jeremiah as he wrote the book of Lamentations. It is a sobbing requiem for the death of Jerusalem and the captivity of her people because of their sins. The tears of "the weeping prophet" seem to splash onto every page.

Recently, as I read Lamentations, I was so caught up in the destruction and desolation described by Jeremiah that a familiar passage took me by surprise. "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (3:22-23).

Those verses are so often quoted alone that I had forgotten the bleak context in which they were penned. In the midst of Jeremiah's dark night of the soul, they shine as an unexpected ray of hope and light.

There may be times in our lives when it appears that all is lost and we sink into despair. But in our deepest sorrow, we are often surprised by the light of God's never-failing love. Then, by His grace and mercy, we can echo the words of Jeremiah: "'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I hope in Him!'" (v.24).  — David C. McCasland