Faithful Through the Seasons — The Catalyst July 2024
Introduction
This edition of The Catalyst focuses on how God is faithful through the seasons of life. Even when we may not know it, God is always working.
Scripture: Lamentations 3:21-26
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Devotional: Faithful through the seasons
This section of Lamentations sees a dramatic shift in the attitude of the poet. Look a few verses earlier:
my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”
What causes our poet to have such a drastic shift in his attitude towards God? He remembers the steadfast love of the Lord. The Hebrew word for “steadfast love” is ḥeseḏ (kheh’-sed), which means loyal or faithful. Some translations render this as “lovingkindness”, which is a word unique to the God’s love in the Bible. It is God’s faithful love which gives the writer of Lamentations hope.
Verse twenty three, the most well known in the book, reminds us that we must place our trust in God’s steadfast love. The writer declares “great is your faithfulness.” Once again the Hebrew word used here is ĕmûnâ (em-oo-naw) which means faithfulness or truth. The root of this word is the Hebrew word āman (aw-man), where we get the English word amen. This not only means that God is faithful to us, but we must believe and trust in his faithfulness. This word is used in Genesis to describe Abraham’s faith in God’s covenant.
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
In the deepest depths of our despair, it is when we remember, and place our trust in, the loyal, trustworthy love of God, that we have hope. God’s steadfast love is unchanging. Like the writer of Lamentations, we must continually call to mind God’s faithfulness in every season of life.
Music: Great is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas Chisholm
Painting: Noah and the Rainbow by Mark Chagall
Accompanying placard
The end of the flood and the emptying of the ark mark the end of divine wrath and a new chapter in the story of humanity. God sends Noah a vision of a rainbow in a sign of a Covenant with the Jewish people. Chagall depicts this apparition in the sky as a white curve contrasting with the rest of the composition in which green dominates. Noah is shown lying down in the lower right-hand section, eyes raised to this vision. A bearded angel dressed in a yellow tunic with a red wing emerges from behind the rainbow. The angel has come to announce the promised joys of this allegiance, visible in the painting’s upper section, as well as the misfortunes of the Jewish people [lower left], symbolized by the blazing houses [center left] and fleeing crowds [center right].
Additional Observations
In the earlier pencil version of this work, it is easier to make out some of the subjects. In the upper left corner, it appears Marc has depicted himself painting one of his well-known crucifixion paintings. You can also see the stone tablets which God gave Moses in the book of Exodus. Looking at the finished painting there is a small dove at the beginning of the rainbow on the left side. On the opposite side the rainbow seems to end at a naked man and woman standing in a garden, possibly depicting Adam and Eve.
Poetry: Harvest of the Spirit by Grace Johnson
The leaves, like souls, begin to change,
From green to gold in a vast exchange;
Autumn's embrace, a gentle reminder,
Of our own seasons, a time to surrender.
God's hand, like the wind, guides our way,
As we walk through life, both night and day;
And just as the trees, we shed our fears,
Trusting that His love will dry our tears.
For every leaf that falls to the ground,
A new prayer rises, a hopeful sound;
Our hearts, like branches, sway in the breeze,
As we find solace on our spiritual knees.
We were unable to find the Grace Johnson this work is attributed too. If you have more information please contact us at contact@heartsoulandmind.org
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