Lamentations 4:17 As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
January 1st is a time for making goals for the New Year. We want to lose ten pounds; we want to read a book a month; we want to run a marathon. Goals are noble, but goals are not worth anything unless you create habits. Habits are how we get life done, things we do persistently and consistently every day.
Most of us would rather have a quick fix, to just magically appear at the end of our goal. If something is broken, we want it fixed now. If something hurts, we want it healed now. If something lacks, we want it filled now. We want it when we want it, now. Yet, all the crash diets in the world are not going to fix the problem that is created by a consistency of life.
In the book of Lamentations we find three words regarding time and how quickly things are resolved that help us come to a very important conclusion. The first word is “swift.” Verse 19 says, “Our persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the heaven.” God’s people were saying, “Our problems come quickly. We don’t have to wait for problems. They just appear. They seem to come up overnight, like a cloud that grows into a storm.” That is the way problems are. They are urgent and demand your attention now. They are swift.
The second word is “forever.” In contrast to that which is quick, God is eternal. Lamentation 5:19 says, “Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation.” This is the basis on which they prayed that God would renew their days just like as in the days of old and that they would be turned to God. God is eternal!
So, our problems are quick, and our God is eternal. On one hand, you have things that are rapid, and on the other hand, you have a God Who will be here long after your problems and Who was here long before you were born. He is a God Who is eternal.
The third word for you to consider is “wait.” In Lamentation 4:17, God’s people said, “As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.” Have you ever watched for a car to come down the road or for a plane to land? You were watching and waiting. These people were waiting for some deliverance from Egypt or some other power when they were in their predicament precisely because they had followed nations like Egypt with their false gods. They were waiting for help that would never come because Egypt could never be that help.
Now what God wants us to do is found in Lamentations 3:25, “The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.” The takeaway is to stop pushing for a quick fix and wait on God. You never have to wait on problems; they come quickly. But, God is not hurried, worried, stressed, or panicked. God is eternal. That doesn’t mean you are going to have to wait forever, but it may be that at times you feel like you are.
Just like as on January 1st, you need to realize that goals are important, but if you are going to change your life, you need to realize that this is accomplished by habits, things that are done every day. Problems that are related to health, social, or financial issues are sometimes brought to light by some calamity, but oftentimes even those things that seem to come upon us rapidly are the result of a long period of doing something the same way every day.
As for Israel, they thought this was a calamity, but it was actually a culmination of centuries of ignoring God’s prophets and provision. Yet, God was merciful. When we turn to God, God will turn to us. So, whatever the need is today, however urgent the problem, stop pushing for a quick fix. Wait on God because He is worthy of our trust.