Joy in Lament - Encouragement for Today - October 21, 2025

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October 21, 2025

Joy in Lament
JENNIFER LUCY TYLER

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“Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end.” Lamentations 3:21-22 (CSB)

For years, I skipped past the book of Lamentations. When I finally read it in 2020, I realized I should have opened it a long time ago. For this book to be in the canon of Scripture, what might God be teaching us through it?

Lamentations consists of five different poems that express pain and anguish over the destruction of Zion and the judgment of the people due to their sin. Reading about the suffering of God's people can be a challenge. But then we come to “the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In Lamentations 3:21-22, the writer makes this statement: “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end.”

What could the writer possibly have called to mind to give him hope in such dire situations? He could have remembered personal trials that the Lord brought him through, or perhaps he recalled his ancestors’ experience of the Lord’s faithfulness. This is the same God who had delivered the Israelites out of slavery, walking with them through the wilderness to the promised land. Whatever the writer was calling to mind, it was powerful enough to bring him to a place of hope.

Just a few years ago, I received some of the most difficult news: Breast cancer had returned in my mother’s body, and this time, it was metastatic. I knelt at my mother’s feet, praying and lamenting. There was so much sadness. We knew the journey ahead would include tests, chemotherapy treatments, and more.

As we talked, my mother and I had our own “call to mind” moment. God had delivered her from cancer before and was with her as she walked through suffering. We had seen the Lord’s hand at every doctor's appointment, surgery, and procedure. His omnipresence was palpable.

He is our Rescuer and Deliverer, and He is also the God who walks with us in suffering. Throughout my mother’s treatment, recalling God’s goodness and mercy brought joy during some of the most challenging moments.

That’s the shift — how we get to have joy in lamenting.

In my childhood church, we used to say, “When I think of the goodness of Jesus, my soul cries out, Hallelujah!” In lamenting, if we call to mind the truth of Christ’s character and the goodness that we have experienced with Him, we can’t help but experience joy.

This doesn’t always remove grief, but joy and grief can exist simultaneously. We can embrace them both as we pause, pray, and regularly “call to mind” who we know God to be.

Father, help me to call to mind who You are, Your character, and all of Your goodness as a daily practice in my life. Lord, thank You for walking with me through grief and suffering, showing me that You are with me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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FOR DEEPER STUDY

Lamentations 3:23-24, “They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, ‘The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him’” (CSB).

What are some things you can call to mind right now that point to God’s goodness and mercy in your life? Share with us in the comments!

© 2025 by Jennifer Lucy Tyler. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
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Matthews, NC 28106
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