Praise from the Rubble

I started another post today, but cancelled it. Have any of you bloggers ever done that? I have to think through it a little more before I spring it on you. So I'll go to plan B.
My mother and father grew up in the Great Depression. Dad said they always had something to eat because they lived on a farm and grew a lot of their own food and raised cattle and pigs. Mom on the other hand was a coal miner's daughter. When my grandfather lost his job, they had little money to buy food and necessities. He lived on what he made working for the WPA which was precious little. They didn't have a lot to eat, they ate the same thing every day, and they might have a little different treat, i.e. add meat to the beans on Sunday. I have never lived through that kind of poverty. We have always had plenty to eat. Even when Martha and I first got married, we didn't have a lot of money and we didn't eat out, but there was plenty of food.
I said all that to talk about Jeremiah and the destruction of Jerusalem. I can't imagine the desolation that occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed during his watch. He's known as the Weeping Prophet and for good reason. People were eating their own children (Lamentations 2:20), the priests and elders died in the city looking for food (Lamentations 1:19), and they came under God's own winepress (Lamentations 1:15). When you read the book you get depressed. In the midst of all of that, there is a glimmer of hope. When you think it will never get better, when you think God is not there, He shows Himself in the most incredible ways. In the middle of all of the despair and gloom, Jeremiah writes some beautiful words. Imagine as he looks out over the city that looks like it's been bombed out during World War II. Smoke is still rising from the rubble. You see people wearing rags foraging through the garbage to find even a morsel of food to eat. Moaning is heard in the background. Mothers are weeping and throwing dust in air to show their utter helplessness. And Jeremiah writes these words.
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'"
Do you recognize that cheery song that we sing? "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion says my soul. Therefore I will hope in Him. Therefore I will hope in Him."
Could you sing that when you've lost your best friend? Could you sing it when you don't know where the next meal is coming from? Could you sing it when your spouse has left you? Could you sing it when you've lost your child? The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Have a good day. JW