Lamentations 3:1-21

We come to the center and central chapter of the Lamentations.  This is the place where hopelessness becomes hopefulness.  The pain is very deep and deeply felt (Ch. 1).  There is an understanding that the righteous God has been and is at work in the affliction (Ch. 2).  Now we see Jeremiah’s personal pain, and the means by which he is able to go on in his life.

Jeremiah continues to note that “He” (God) is still the One at work.  But what is notable in the opening part of this chapter (v1-21) are the repeated uses of the personal pronoun.  We see “I”, “me” and “my” thirty-five times.  He begins by saying, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath” (v1).  He talks about how he has aged through this trial.  It is a dark time where he feels hedged in and chained, like being attack by a wild animal.  Those around him have been no help to him.  He concludes at v18 that “My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.”  Perhaps you have known such a trial in which you lost physical strength.  You could barely get out of bed; you had no desire to do anything, even the necessary things required for your own personal care.

Before we go on, let us consider some things. 

·        First, comfort must be personal, not corporate.  We may suffer as a nation or church or family; but God’s provision is ultimately personally received. 

·        Second, God is knows your pain.  Don’t believe the lie that you are suffering as no one else has.  God understands; and for believers today we know we have a High Priest who was tempted in all points like us, yet without sin.  We can come to His throne for grace and mercy (Heb. 4:14-16). 

·        Third, hopelessness is the point at which we are most ready to glorify God.  The stories of God’s great men (e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph in Genesis) are stories of hopelessness.  It is in weakness that grace becomes real (2 Cor. 12:7-10).  Death must precede resurrection. It is then that we, as did Jeremiah, will truly cry out to God and remember the truth that will brings hope, which sets us free from the chains of grief (v19-21).

The weeping prophet says to us, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”  In times of affliction our minds easily are filled with lies.  We review the situation endlessly, find culprits, and repeatedly tell ourselves how cruel they have been to us.  We blame this person or that event.  We copy and then continually paste these things in our minds so that we never get past them.  Jeremiah has been grieving solidly for some time.  Now God brings to his mind a series of truths that will result in hope, an indispensible trait for life. 

In the coming days we will live in these truths.  You will see why fundamental to a changed life is the renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:2).  In our afflictions, as in all of life, we must think God’s thoughts!  We must speak truth to our souls so we can believe the Truth (John 14:6).