A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Kate Cox.  She left Texas to abort her baby with Trisomy 18.  She felt she would have only had 2-3 days with her infant after giving birth.  The story breaks my heart for her, her baby, which she and her husband named, and her family.  But for the grace and mercy God bestows on us imperfect and unworthy persons, I forgive her act.  She doesn’t understand God, Who may have given her that baby to fill the lives of her family with more than the tolerable norms.  No doubt the baby would have inconvenienced the flow of life and increased the stress levels associated with newborns with disabilities.  I’m sure the ticking clock would have inflicted further pain and the constant reminder that a goodbye could be in the very near future.  But no one knows that for sure.  Only God knows our beginning and end.  

     Our nation is flying quickly into the abyss of darkness where God has his back to us.  Where He abandons us. Some biblical scholars think that He already has.  

     My Precept Bible study is in Lamentations.  I can’t describe all that’s going on (this is a blog after all) but Israel has once again abandoned the God that chose them and made a covenant with them.  A covenant they promised to keep.  The descriptions in Lamentations, of a nation gone under, are heart wrenching.  The author knows God, some believe it is Jeremiah the prophet, and he is suffering with his people.  He is using harsh words to paint a vivid picture of a nation abandoned by God.  Like the Psalmist he cries out;

”Why do You forget us forever? Why do You forsake us so long?“ ‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/100/lam.5.20.NASB1995

”O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?“ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭74‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ 

     God’s wrath.  In Romans 1:18 Paul tells us that we deserve His wrath when we turn away from His truth and exchange it for a lie.  Our nation should become familiar with verses 18-32.  There is none excused. 

”For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,“ ‭‭Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ 

     I still hear the argument for separation of church and state.  I read a quote from Benjamin Franklin today and truer words cannot be said or applied to the place we have reach with ungodliness and immorality.

 “Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” – Benjamin Franklin

     Our country was once united with God, maybe loosely as we were never perfect, but we have lost our way.  We want freedom at the cost of lives, and we have a nation that is being ripped from those first virtuous foundations.  Emotions and single-minded feelings have taken over.  No one questions whether something is right, rather, it’s based on how it makes one feel.  Things that annoy us are forefront.  Many are annoyed with the name of God.  We must look with our eyes and hear with our ears all that transpires against our holy God.  Our Creator.  Imagine God in the movie theater or in front of the television.  Imagine him viewing social media.  Does your mind, heart and soul see a problem? Would you want your child viewing all or any of it?  Why does the media want us to fear everything?  What kind of people are we becoming in a nation that abandons God?

     The great goodness of God is recognized by the author of Lamentations in the third chapter.  He remembers God’s lovingkindnesses that never cease and His compassions that never fail.  The very word compassion means to take action.  God can take our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh!  God is faithful!  God is eternal and He has a place for those who love Him.

”This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.“ ‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬ 

     Finally, there is hope for our soul.  We have been given the gift of a Savior that saves us from death and restores a heart of flesh when we believe.  We may suffer with a doomed nation but God has given us a way to rise above the wreckage.  Look to God for all your needs and He will take compassion on you.  You will receive His lovingkindnesses and compassions that are new everyday!

””The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.”“ ‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭24‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬