We read Lamentations 3:1-24:
I am the man who has seen affliction
by the rod of the LORD’s wrath
2 He has driven me away and made me walk
in darkness rather than light;
3 indeed, he has turned his hand against mem
again and again, all day long.
4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
and has broken my bones
5 He has besieged me and surrounded me
with bitterness and hardship
6 He has made me dwell in darkness
like those long dead
7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape
he has weighed me down with chains.t
8 Even when I call out or cry for help
he shuts out my prayer
9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
he has made my paths crooked
10 Like a bear lying in wait,
like a lion in hiding
11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me
and left me without help.
12 He drew his bow
and made me the target for his arrows
13 He pierced my heart
with arrows from his quiver
14 I became the laughingstock of all my people
they mock me in song all day long.
15 He has filled me with bitter herbs
and given me gall to drink
16 He has broken my teeth with gravel
he has trampled me in the dust
17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
18 So I say, “My splendor is gone
and all that I had hoped from the LORD.”
19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD’s great lover we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.t
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
We long for God to answer our prayers. We think we deserve his special attention to our heart cries. But the opposite of what we expect from God is happening in this chapter of Lamentations. God is acting as Jerusalem’s enemy. He is not like the God we find in Psalm 23 who leads beside quiet waters and refreshes the soul. The speaker in this lament identifies himself with those who have suffered much under the rod of God’s wrath. You could say they got the worst of it there. Yes, it was their own
fault. Yes, they had sinned against the Lord. They had served other gods and had left his rule for life. But was God’s punishment not too harsh? Did they now deserve bitter herbs for food and gall to drink?
We need to come to terms with the fact that God does what is right. We cannot define what is just or what deserves punishment. We have to accept the path of life he leads us on. We are utterly dependent on his mercy! We can do our best to live good lives, be good to those around us. We try to be good spouses and raise our children well, but we realize we often fail. And bad tidings just happen. We can cry our heart out to him and we are encouraged to do so. But we are not in a postion to demand anything from God. This is what Job came to realize towards the end of his long road of suffering. His hardship and pain were so severe, yet he learned the lesson that he was in no position to question God’s doing. What is left for us then? Hope. Hope in the goodness of God. He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). Jesus was crushed in the garden of the pressing of oil to save us. Blood was pressed out of him in that place of suffering. Can we place that bittersweet event as a background to the bitter difficulties we face in life?
A good friend of ours passed away this week. She was only 53. Friends and family found it hard to accept her sudden sickness: she became paralyzed after getting the flu. In her 9 years of wrestling with poor health, she still had this contagious laugh and beautiful smile on her face. Her testimony in these years was so full of hope:“I do not know why I have become sick, but I know that there is a reason for me being still alive!”
Let us cry out to God in our broken situation and wait for him. Let us remember past blessings once again. Let us remember that it is because of the Lord’s great love that we are still alive. Every morning his compassions are new! Great is his faithfulness (Lam.3:22-24).
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I come before you with my hardships. You know where I am going through. Please hear my cry for help. I need you now. You say that you are close to the brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. I am brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. That is why I call on you. I have no one else to turn to. Please come into my situation and pour out your saving power!
Suggested NT reading: Luke 22:39-46
Suggested Song:
Great is thy faithfulness