No one is abandoned by the Lord forever.

What comes to mind when you think about God? My thoughts tend to be along the lines of Prince of Peace, Lover of My Soul, Savior, or King.

The other night I felt prompted to read Lamentations, and before I started I prayed that God would guide me as I studied His word. As I started in chapter three, I saw some descriptions of God that I'd never seen before.

"He has hidden like a bear of a lion, waiting to attack me.

He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.

He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows."

(Lamentations 3:10-12)

To be put simply, these verses caught me off guard. What happened to the benevolent God that I personally know?? The God I know doesn't seem to be waiting to attack me. In confusion, I paused and prayed that God would give me discernment. What is the Truth that He's wanting me to learn?

The beauty was revealed a few verses later:

"Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his merces begin afresh each morning.

I say to myself, 'the Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!'

.........

For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.

Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.

For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

If people crush underfood all the prisoners of the land, if they deprive others of their rights in defiance of the Most High, if they twist justice in their courts -- doesn't the Lord see all these things?

Who can command things to happen without the Lord's permission?

Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?

Then why should we, mere humans, complain when we are punished for our sins?

Instead, let us test and examine our ways.

Let us turn back to the Lord."

(Lamentations 3:21-24, 31-40)

We as people often tend to blame God when we go through hard things, and an often-used argument against the  love of God is the question of why He allows bad things to happen in the world. But in the midst of our trouble, in the midst of our grief, His love never ends.