PASSAGE:
   It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.
   They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.
   The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.
   The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].
   It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation (the safety and ease) of the Lord.
   It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke [of divine disciplinary dealings] in his youth.
   Let him sit alone uncomplaining and keeping silent [in hope], because [God] has laid [the yoke] upon him [for his benefit].
   Let him put his mouth in the dust [in abject recognition of his unworthiness]--there may yet be hope.
   Let him give his cheek to the One Who smites him [even through His human agents]; let him be filled [full] with [men's] reproach [in meekness].
   For the Lord will not cast off forever!
   But though He causes grief, yet will He be moved to compassion according to the multitude of His loving-kindness and tender mercy.
   For He does not willingly and from His heart afflict or grieve the children of men.
( Lamentations 3:22-33 )

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   Worry wastes time. Worry cannot produce good fruit -- the only fruit we reap from it is more worry. It can become a way of life. We worry whether someone will like us, if we will do a job well, if we can pay our bills each month, if our health will fail us. We worry about war. Prices. Traffic. Germs. We worry if we gain or lose a pound. We become consumed.
   Thousands of people have lost weight on the "Free to Be Thin" (Bethany House, 1979) program. As Coauthor of the books, I receive many letters. One woman who lost seventy pounds wrote, "I have a new life. I no longer have to hide, lie, or cheat. I eat healthy foods. I have more energy then ever and I feel better than I've ever felt in my life." But then she added, "One worry consumes me. Will I gain back the weight?"
   I see worry everywhere. Each time it reminds me of Lamentations 3:22-23: "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fails. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
   Worry could consume us like fire -- like a pile of smoldering embers that quietly destroys everything around it. Because we worry, we work hard to get ahead, do well and avoid pain. But our efforts may fail. Only the compassion of the Lord will never fail. His faithfulness is monumental, majestic, true and permanently dependable.
   The woman who feared gaining weight needed to trust in Lamentations 3:22-23. When she fully grasped that she was not alone in her desire to be healthy and strong -- that the Lord was blessing her to that end -- she began to trust His faithfulness. Each morning she dedicated her whole self to the glory of God, and each morning she discovered His compassions to be new and fresh.
   Now, five years later, she still has not gained weight and she has learned some valuable spiritual lessons. This woman can sing, along with all of us who offer up our whole selves to God, "Great is your faithfulness!"

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ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE READINGS:

   What time I am afraid, I will have confidence in and put my trust and reliance in You.
   By [the help of] God I will praise His word; on God I lean, rely, and confidently put my trust; I will not fear. What can man, who is flesh, do to me?
( Psalm 56:3-4 )

   Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, but an encouraging word makes it glad.
( Proverbs 12:25 )

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