There is Always Hope, So Cry Out!

On Feb 16, 2018, I had a dream where I was told to go and study out Jeremiah. It wasn’t clear if I was to study Jeremiah the book or study out the character of Jeremiah, who also penned the book of Lamentations. So, I prayed for the direction to move and I began. It was not an exhaustive study by any means, as my focus turned to the book of Lamentations given the climate of these last days in which we live.  I provide a reference from An Exegetical Commentary on the Lamentations by James E. Smith, as it sums up four points I gleaned as I read over Lamentations: “This five-fold poem is really an affirmation of faith in the justice and goodness of God. The author has tasted the bitter dregs of pain and sorrow, of cruelty and ignominy, of frustration and loneliness and yet he dares to cling to a faith undaunted, a faith which triumphs over circumstances. The book endeavors to explain history and place calamities in proper perspective,” (Smith, p.2).

Here are the four points I took away from reading Lamentations:

1. Bad things happen to the good among us, due to sin. But God is sovereign; He judges and vindicates. There is a word I learned that tries to give meaning to why bad things happen. That word is “theodicy,” which is defined as an attempt to reflect on the meaning of human suffering and to explain the ways of God to humanity. Or, more simply, the vindication of divine goodness and providence in view of the existence of evil.
2. Have you ever asked, “How Lord, could this happen?” Sometimes blame is put on God for the bad that happens. According to bible.org, the title of the book Lamentations in Hebrew (hkya – Ekah) means “how.”  In Greek, (GRHNOI or threnos) means “lament.”  In Latin Vulgate it is a transliteration for the title “lament” which became the basis for the English title “lamentations.” We lament and blame God at the same time.
3. We have to lament, like, literally cry out at what has happened, is happening, to our world, our city, our neighborhood, our block, our family, ourselves.  Lamentations 1-2 talk about sorrow in remembering what once was. Here, because of Jerusalem’s betrayal, she was judged. The intercession of Jeremiah at the end of chapter 2, is powerful to me, specifically, verse 19. As an intercessor, my posture resembles this.
4. There is hope in the suffering. Chapter 3:21-27 is about hope. I’ve experienced bad things happen to my family, my husband, and most recently, to my son and me. We each have a faith story and a testimony. So do you! Thank God that we are alive to tell it and share about the Authority we have over the power the enemy wants to steal. Jeremiah reminds us of the hope, though. We have to fight by praying because we are in a spiritual battle. Open your eyes to this and engage in warfare.

There are many other takeaways you can glean from a study like this. While theodicy can be hard to explain or understand, what helps me is that God is just, compassionate, and faithful. My “faithfulmelody” says that God is exacting in judgment but He never leaves the one behind.

#faithfulmelodies #lamentations #prophetjeremiah