Lamentations 3:1-18, PTSD and the Word of God (2)

Did Asaph or Jeremiah suffer with PTSD?  Here are some things we can say about them.  First, take Psalm 74.  Asaph was a worship leader chosen by David.  This “Asaph” is likely a descendent of his, as his family continued in the position until the time of the Babylonian captivity and beyond (Ezra 2:41).  What Asaph saw was traumatic (v3-8).  He had struggles with hope, or better, hopelessness (v9-10).  He wrestled with God over this (v11-17) and eventually was able to pray with a solid foundation (v18-23).  The Psalm is likely a summarizing of his experience.  So we don’t know how long he struggled.  We just know it was traumatic, and he eventually found some resolution of the matter with God.

Before we move on to Jeremiah, let me say that Ps. 73-89 is a section of Psalms (Book III of the five books of the Psalms) that deals with this traumatic experience.  You will find Psalmists struggling with depression as well as their memories.  Most of the time (Ps. 88 might be the exception) they come to some ability to trust God with their future and thus to move on in life.

Now, what about Jeremiah?  The book of Lamentations has five chapters.  Ch. 1-2 certainly have a lot to say about his suffering, so I commend them to you to read.  I am going to stay with Ch. 3 because that is where we see Jeremiah with his struggles and his healing.  Let’s take a quick look at 3:1-18.  But before we do, just a reminder, that all the chapters in Lamentations are “alphabetical.”  Your English Bible should have chapter three in 22 stanzas of 3 verses each.  The verses in each stanza begin with the same letter, begin with “aleph” (v1-3) through “tau” (v64-66).  The verses in each stanza fit together so you can study it three verses at a time if you want. 

·       v1-3: Jeremiah refers to the time as “dark.”  What he saw was “time and time again, throughout the day.”  Let me note one other thing here and throughout all of vs. 1-18: what he saw he attributed to the hand of God.  The first two chapters of Lamentations show Jeremiah coming to grips with this.  The Babylonians did bad things, but it was the work of God. 

·       v4-6: Jeremiah experienced some physical issues that he relates to the “aging process.”  He is surrounded by bitterness and woe, and again, it is “dark.”

·       v7-9: What he saw was oppressive, in the sense of being heavy.  He had feelings of hopelessness, hedged in by the trauma.  His normal way of dealing with things (prayer) seemed useless.  God was not listening.

·       v10-12: He felt threatened, as if confronted by a ferocious animal.  Note: these feelings arose from what God was doing.

·       v13-15: He felt, of actually was, estranged from his family, “my people.”  He experienced this early in his ministry (Jer. 11:21; 12:6) so that when the end came it was especially difficult.

·       v16-18: Jeremiah’s anxiety was like teeth being broken by gravel.  Any sense of inner strength and hope (a reason to live) was dead.

My conclusion is that Jeremiah’s trauma was very real and as difficult as what might be experienced on any battlefield or in anything faced by first-responders.  Let’s pick this up in the next post.