bearing the yoke

Lamentations 3:27-33

"it is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. let him sit alone in silence, for the Lord has laid it on him. let him bury his face in the dust-- there may yet be hope. let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. for men are not cast off by the Lord forever. though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. for He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men."

i've been thinking about this since i read it last night. i find myself in lamentations a lot when things are going badly.. lamentations 3 is my favorite to read. i usually read the beginning of it, but this time the end spoke to me more. "it is good for man to bear the yoke while he is young.." i'm definitely in that stage of life right this second. a lot of unfortunate circumstances have built up on my shoulders, and while i'm happy to say that for once in my life i didn't cause them, they're still hard to deal with. "though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love." thank God for that, because i can't fix my own grief. i've tried. it doesn't work.

so today i just wanted to share with you that i'm really grateful for the Lord's comfort and His unfailing love.. and the knowledge that "bearing this yoke" is actually a good thing at this point in my life.