268. Not Cast Off Forever
Lamentations 3:31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever.
Jesus says, “I will never, no never, not ever forsake you.” Here the Lord through Jeremiah promises He will not cast us off forever. The entire book laments the apparent fact that the Lord has indeed forsaken His people, or that He has cast them off. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple and the Kingdom was a judgment and a punishment, but it was not a casting off forever. It feels like the Lord has cast off, abandoned and forsaken His people, but the destruction of the city and the temple and the exile of the king and many of the people does not mean that the Lord has cast them off. He Himself, as the true and only King, is still with the people, wherever they are. The outward political and worship systems are gone, but that does mean that God left.
There will be times in life when it may appear to us that God has cast us off. We are spiritually dry. Our prayers don’t reach past the ceiling. We feel the dark night of the soul. We may feel alone and abandoned, like Jesus on the cross. But always, and especially in those times, we need to remember God’s abundant promises that He will not leave us forever. That would be the absolute worst fate we could ever experience. Sin causes such death and separation. Ask Adam in the Garden. Ask the Prodigal Son. Ask Jesus in the Garden and on the Cross. Our sin on Jesus caused Him to experience death as a separation from God. The Father had cast Jesus off at that moment when He took our sins on Himself. But after Jesus paid the price of sin, which was death and separation, God raised Him from the dead, without any sin or death, to live life forever.
God will cast off sin forever, but He will not cast off the sinner forever, for the sinner has been forgiven and his sins taken away. Meanwhile, while we live, we face the fact that our sins do have consequences, one of which is separation from God. He casts us off, but not forever. The Spirit is grieved, though He does not leave. But repentance and faith in the Gospel is the way back to union with God. God is with you. Repent and believe; then you are with God.