Lamentations 3 is best known for the hope found in the middle of it. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.”

But there is more.

The next verses talk about waiting.

“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.”

The waiting soul is a humble soul. It’s not trying to fix the problem and get the outcome it thinks it wants. It’s looking to God to bring salvation. That’s a lot bigger than getting the fix. That’s not things going back to how they were, back to being okay. It’s the redemption, the grand purpose God’s after in your life and in the lives of others.

Verse 28 in the New King James Version reads, “Let him sit alone and keep silent, because God has laid it on him.”

Verse 33 says that God does not afflict willingly, or from the heart. It’s not in God’s heart to bring affliction on someone. It’s just what is needful sometimes. We need to recognize the affliction as God’s hand at work. “God has laid it on him.”

We run to get out from under God’s hand and His purposes, when we run to get out of the affliction. It’s good to sit quiet and wait. You don’t need to give God your opinion or ideas for what He could do to fix things. Put yourself in His hands and sit quiet. Let Him work out your salvation. It will be better than the fix to make things okay. It will be redemption, salvation, peace, joy, glory to God and better than good for you.

Turn to the Lord. Set your face toward Him. Lift up your heart and hands to God in heaven. If you are going to open your mouth, let it be in praise and not complaint. Let it be in thanksgiving and not in requests for your needs.

He knows what you need better than you do. Let Him take care of you. Wait in silence with a heart turned toward the God of our great salvation.