Remember This...

Lamentations 3:21-23 says this:"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."

In the text, Jeremiah is suffering.   Jeremiah lived during a time of corporate suffering- the Babylonians had come in and ransacked Jerusalem.  That desolation is the background of this collection of poems called Lamentations.  The sin of the people was being judged.  The cities were laid waste.  Lamentations was an expression of the grief and the misery that was being experienced during this destructive period in the history of Judah/Jerusalem.  It was Jeremiah letting his frustrations out. 

The way that the poems are written is interesting- each chapter is written as an acrostic; Chapters 1 and 2 are written in 3 line stanzas.  Each stanza begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet- in order.  As the alphabet progresses, so does the intensity!  This literary device also serves to remind the reader that as you near the end of the alphabet, you are also nearing the resolution of the hurt and pain.  Chapter 3 lies between 1,2 and 4,5 and is by far the most intense chapter.

 

In the midst of the judgment, here was the man of God suffering right along with the rest of the people!  He was NOT EXEMPT; and he had been serving God since he was a young boy.  Lamentations  was written to help the people maintain their faith in God.  As one scholar puts it, the ones that did not come to God when Jeremiah was prophesying now had a second chance to hear from God through the prophet.  Jeremiah reminded the people that the calamity that came was deserved and that “God was righteous” in His dealings with them. 

It is easy to view Lamentations as  all doom and gloom book but there are nuggets here for those that have an ear to hear.  Some scholars believe that this is the quintessential book on suffering and how to deal with suffering and pain.

Have you ever wondered “why?”  “Why am I going through this?” Romans 8:19-23 says that the whole world is under bondage waiting for the glory of God to be revealed in children of God- but we are groaning as well- we want to get out of here!  We understand that this tent that we live in can get very uncomfortable sometimes!

There are different reasons for suffering: 1. Personal sin 2. Purification and 3. So that the glory of God might be seen.  No matter how we slice it, issues and problems are a natural outgrowth of the condition of the world.  Adam and Eve’s sin upset the perfection that God initially intended for the world.

William Dembski (author of “The End of Christianity”) put it very eloquently when he said that  man must experience the full measure of sin because man was complicit in sin entering into the world; ALL OF US HAVE TO EXPERIENCE THE WORLD AS IT IS- BUT WE DO NOT HAVE TO LET THOSE EXPERIENCES DEFINE WHO WE ARE.  We do not have to live in bitterness because God can take the pain, loss and hurt and turn them into faith and trust!  We are hard pressed but not crushed, perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed!  Thank God for His grace and His mercy!

Suffering may be punishment for some BUT there may be a different intent for those whose suffering/tribulation cannot be traced back to personal sin.  For the believer, that is trying to live for Christ and trying to live a holy life, the intent of suffering may simply be to continue to perfect us i.e. to grow us up spiritually.  James 1:2-4 “Count it all joy when you meet trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance!”  Perseverance is necessary on this walk!  Hebrews 10:36 says it like this: you have need of endurance so that AFTER you have done the will of God, you may receive what has been promised.

 

How do we handle suffering or tribulation?  Jeremiah gives us some excellent insight on what to do when we are in a hard place.  I love the way that he writes and the metaphors that he uses. 

1. Remember This: The pain and the hurt that you feel is real [Verses 16-18]

"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, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.” 

 

Jeremiah is brutally honest in his assessment of the situation.  He says here: my soul has no peace, I have forgotten what happiness is; my endurance has perished and so has my hope from the Lord.  Here is a man that is face to face with his problems and he shows us something amazing.  Rather than put on a phony face and walk around high-fiving everyone, Jeremiah says here that I am tired!  I don’t even remember what happiness is!  Too many times we have a grin and bear it attitude- it’s ok for us to admit that we are tired!  I am worn out!  We have to be honest about pain and hurt.  Pain is a reminder of the fallen condition of the world!  Pain also a reminder that we cannot let go of God!  It is at these low points that we should pray the most fervently!   IF we let go of God, what do we have left?  Yes the pain is real, yes we need to release our hurt and frustrations but we cannot ever allow our issues to cause us to quit on God.  Can you imagine having to bear all of your burdens outside of the grace of God?

2. Remember this:  God is good.[Verses 21-24]

In the middle of this lament, roughly halfway through this chapter, Jeremiah comes back to reality and reminds himself of something awesome.  Every now and then, we need to REMEMBER what God has done!  GOD NEVER FORGETS BUT WE OFTEN TIMES, DO!  Later in the chapter, Jeremiah recalled a situation where he was thrown into a pit and imprisoned and he says, “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea…Verse 57 says “YOU CAME NEAR when I called on you; you said, “DO NOT FEAR!” 

God is saying RIGHT NOW: REMEMBER THIS: I HAVE NOT FORSAKEN YOU!

When we look at verses 21-24, we can pull out 7 principles that can be applied directly to our own lives:

 

" 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.”

1. (Verse 21) Hope springs from the recollection of WHO God is and WHAT God has already done.  Remind yourself of this the next time you get tired. 

2. (Verse 22) God’s love is steadfast and unending; A different translation of this passage says this: BECAUSE of the steadfast love of the LORD, we are not CUT OFF!  We are not here because of ourselves, we are here because of God's love. 

3. God’s mercy is also eternal; Mercy is when God spares us from what we deserve.

 

4. (verse 23) God’s mercy is fresh: every morning, God’s mercy for us is renewed- every day is a new day from God, one in which the previous day is not held against us!

5. God’s faithfulness in GREAT; Hebrews 12:28 says that God’s kingdom is unshakable!  The same writer in chapter 13 says this: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever!  God has not changed and God will not changeà He is one that we can depend on!  When we lean on Him, he doesn’t shake, God stays put! 

6. (Verse 24) THE LORD IS ENOUGH!  The word portion has to do with possession as in God belongs to us.  In Numbers 18:20, God told the priests, “I am your portion” i.e. I am everything that you need.

7. Because HE is ALL I need, I will hope in HIM.  Hope is the expectation of something sure!    Isaiah 49:23 says that those that hope in the Lord will not be disappointed!

Remember this: The believer understands that God is ultimately…GOOD.

Remember this: weeping endures for a night but joy comes in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)

Remember this: these light afflictions which are but for a moment, and that there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight in glory! (2 Cor 4:17)

Jeremiah reminds the people in verse 37 of chapter 3 that NOTHING happens outside of God’s providence.  It is the permissive will of God that allows things that we view as bad to occur.  Job asked the question, shall we accept good from the Lord and not bad?  Atheists use this point to discredit God- saying "how can so much evil exist in the world IF God Is real?" but times when others discredit are times that we should give glory to God because God is able to take those bad, hurtful things and turn them around for the good! 

3. Remember this: God already knows the outcome; be patient [Verses 25,26]

 

The way we measure time and the way God measures time is different.  In two places, 2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4 it says that a thousand years is but a day to God.  Many say don’t interpret that literally, but let’s say that we do… if we lived 70 YEARS, OUR LIFE IS ABOUT 1.5H LONG TO GOD!  That’s about the length of a movie!  It is hard to wait when we base the outcome of a situation on our wristwatches, but Jeremiah encourages us here:  

"

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."

Verse 25 says two things: 1. Wait and 2. Seek.  While I am waiting, I should also be SEEKING God.  I need to be looking for Him in the midst of my trouble.  Seek in Hebrew is "dawrash"- it means to seek the TRUE God in prayer and worship!  Throughout this text and this book, Jeremiah never takes his focus off the true God!  SEEKING GOD IS WHAT BRINGS EVERYTHING INTO FOCUS.  It helps us to realize that God is there in the bad times as well as in the good times.  Isaiah 26:3 says that God will keep you in perfect peace if we keep our minds stayed on Him.  He says again in the 40^th chapter that if we wait on God, He will renew our strength!

Verse 26 says that we should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord!  Is this contradictory to crying out?  No, the crying out was the vent session!  These laments were powerful expressions of grief and loss.  However, mow that it is out, and we’ve been reminded of the HOPE that we have in God, and WE KNOW that his salvation is coming…we know that the suffering will not last forever…we quiet down with the expectation that God will rescue us from whatever it is we are dealing with!  Psalm 62:1 “…My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.”  Psalm 131:2 “…I have composed and quieted myself… Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.”  I am at peace now!  I am full and content because of who God is and what I know He will bring to past. 

Paul says in Philippians 4:6,7 that we shouldn’t be anxious for anything but through prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, present our requests to the Lord and the PEACE of God, that surpasses all understanding shall guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!   

We all want to be at peace.  We all want that rest that so often eludes us.  The beauty of Christianity is that no matter how much we suffer down here…Jesus has the best Retirement package that has ever been offered.  After we’ve taken all that we can take, Jesus said this in John 14:3” I go to prepare a place for you that where I am, you may be also!  He said (John 16), you weep now but you will see me again and your tears will be turned to joy…and NO ONE will take your joy away from you.  This is not the happy go lucky/pie-in-the-sky show, I’M JUST SAYING THAT CHRISTIANS DON’T SORROW AS THE WORLD SORROWS BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS ANOTHER LIFE TO COME AFTER THIS ONE!  Revelation 21:4 says that God, on the day of Christ's return will wipe away every tear! 

Whatever you are facing right now, remember this: it is real, God is good and God already knows the outcome.  Grace and peace be unto you, in Jesus' name.