July 28

Lamentations

             He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “Gone is my glory, and all that I had hoped for from the Lord.”

            The thought of my affliction and my homelessness is wormwood and gall! My soul continually thinks of it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

            The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3: 16-24

             

            The author of the book of Lamentations begins by looking around at his empty city.  He remarks at how quiet it is.  How lonely it is.  How broken it is. 

            The nation of Judah was defeated. The capital city of Jerusalem was conquered.  The people were taken away into slavery and exile.  The Children of Israel had lost.  The Promised Land that had been given to them by God Himself was no longer theirs and the author feels nothing but loss and pain.  For the first two and a half chapters of the text, the author bemoans the suffering and the fear and the shame that has fallen on his people.  He repents over and over as he reflects on the pride and the arrogance and the sin that led to his nation’s collapse.  He remarks that all of his hopes and dreams are gone.  The plans that he had for his future are shattered.  In one season, the life that he knew and every assumption that he held for the days to come were broken and cast aside.

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:  The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

            There is one thing that sustains him.  One thing that allows him to go on and it is something that he has to keep reminding himself of over and over and over again:  God is good and He loves us.  It requires a discipline of the will and the mind to bring this truth to the front of his attention when all he wants to do is live in the grief and the pain:  God is good and He loves us.  When all the evidence is screaming to the contrary and the weight of the world is bearing down on the author’s shoulders, he reminds himself:  God is good and He loves us.

            When the weight of our days seems too much and too daunting to get out of bed, we can remember:  God is good and He loves us.  When our life is an exhausting rollercoaster of monotony and panic, we can remember:  God is good and He loves us.  When a new school year is starting and we have the same battles to fight again and again with the new teachers and classmates and administration, we can remember:  God is good and He loves us.  When we look to the future for our children and wonder how they could possibly make it in this world that is so cruel, we can remember:  God is good and He loves us.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

            The gift that is available to us as believers is Hope.  Health may be failing.  Bank accounts may be failing.  Social Service Systems may be failing.  God is not.  Even as the Israelites were in their darkest moments, God’s hand was with them and guiding them towards restoration.  When our days are darkest and our nights are longest and the weight of our life is heavy on our backs, that is the time to remind yourself, or find someone else who will remind you, that God is good and His love for you is unmatched.  Find hope.  Cling to hope and allow your soul to breathe again.

A moment to reflect:

God is good and He loves you.  Repeat that to yourself several times today.