I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
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.”
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:19-26
As 2025 comes to a close today, it is wise to look back at the year now behind us.
Some moments from 2025 brought smiles: joys, accomplishments, answered prayers.
Others stir up more difficult emotions: trials, losses, seasons that still feel heavy.
Jeremiah knew that ache well as he wrote the book of Lamentations.
It may be an odd passage to choose as our final devotional of the year. But look close. In a very real way, he offers the perfect thought to focus our attention on God today.
Clearly, here, he wrote these words amid sorrow and pain. Just look at his phrasing of how he describes his current state of mind:
I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
But notice what the looking back prompts in the very next verse: “Yet this I call to mind…”
In the midst of great sorrow and pain, he turns his thoughts to God’s great love and compassion. And in that shift, hope emerges.
The verses in this passage look two directions at once—backward in remembrance and forward in trust. As we close out 2025, let’s do the same.
Just like Jeremiah, let’s look back and recount where God showed up for us in this past year. What should we thank Him for? Where did His love sustain us? Where did He show up? Let those memories fill your heart with gratitude and hope.
Then look ahead. Tomorrow morning, when a new year dawns, His compassions will be new again. He does not change. And the same God who loved you in 2025 will love you through 2026!
So we can say with Jeremiah, despite our current circumstances, “The Lord is my portion and I will wait for him.”
As one year ends and another begins, we look back with gratitude and forward with hope and confidence. For our God has never lost a battle. He will not be defeated in 2026—so neither shall we.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and compassion and grace and mercy. May my memory of it give me a hope that endures. I look forward to another day and another year of serving you. Always for your glory, Amen.