Feeling Pain (Lamentations 3:1-20)
Let’s face it: emotions can be challenging to deal with! We can see this very clearly when we open our Bibles. In both the Old and New Testaments, we can read about the lives of different men and women and the beautiful tapestry of emotions they experienced through times of war and peace, righteousness and depravity, freedom and slavery, and abundance and scarcity.
One of the men of the Bible who expressed a variety of emotions was Jeremiah, a prophet who spoke out against false teachings and the practice of idolatry. He is the author of the Book of Lamentations, which shares his experiences during the fall of Babylon. In this book of the Bible, we see the emotional toll and cost of disobedience by the people of Israel and the elation of joy in the restoration of the Israelites to God.
In this book of the Bible, Lamentations 3 is a perfect example of the array of emotions we may experience as believers and followers of God. I say feelings of believers because although Jeremiah expressed how we all feel, regardless of whether we are saved, the thoughts and actions behind his feelings distinguish him as a man of God.
Lamentations 3 is formatted as a poem and divided into three parts. The first part of this chapter does not start joyfully or filled with peace; instead, the first 20 verses are filled with the woe and despair Jeremiah felt. These verses can be challenging to read because of their emotional heaviness.
Verse 1 begins with, “I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.” (NLT)
There is no hiding Jeremiah’s despair in verse 1, with him witnessing first-hand the tragedy of disobedience. In the following 19 verses of this chapter, Jeremiah also uses words like darkness and brokenness, bitterness and hardships, and mocking and deprivation.
In verse 8, we see that Jeremiah did not only feel afflicted, but he even felt that God was ignoring him when he said, “And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.” (NLT)
It can help comfort us when we feel distant from God to know that even faithful men like Jeremiah had times of hopelessness and difficulty and, at times, felt a separation from God. Our lives will always come with challenges. Just like Jeremiah, when we think that God is not listening to us or that we can’t hear from him, it affects us to our very core.
Quite a few Christians I know have equated seasons like this to a desert, feeling sad and overwhelmed, doubting God's presence in their lives, and despairing that he wasn’t listening when they called out to him. They felt lost and confused during trials, suffering, pain, or disobedience when they couldn’t hear God or see his mercies.
When talking to a friend recently about how she felt she was in a desert season and that God wasn’t listening or answering, it dawned on me that no matter what we think or feel, there is always hope! Satan may use seasons like these to cause doubt and make us yearn for any relief, accepting half-truths and resting in temporary and illusionary places. While these places may initially look welcoming and refreshing, they are merely mirages, the desert with no foreseeable relief.
Yet, the relief God promises is real, an oasis of eternity, wisdom, respite, bounty, and growth. He is also with us every labored step of the way, unlike Satan, who will leave us alone in our pain, doubts, and confusion. We may perceive our experiences as a desert, but with and through Christ, we will arrive at a place of comfort, peace, and growth.
Towards the end of this section of Lamentations 3, Verse 18b says, “Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” (NLT)
Jeremiah was not merely overwhelmed by darkness and deprivation and burdened by the emotions of hardships; he was also mourning for what he hoped for.
Praise God, that is not where this chapter ends! Our next devotional will look into verses 24-42: Verses of Hope, where Jeremiah praises God with anticipation, equipped with the wisdom of who he knew and experienced God to be. Instead of focusing on the dire consequences resulting from the disobedience of God’s people, he confidently clings to hope and rejoices in the possibility of renewal.
Lamentations 3: 22-23 says, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh every morning.” (NLT)
Application:
Have you looked to God when you felt the burden of emotions?
Have you trusted God’s love enough to tell him all you are feeling?
Will you let God lead you even when you don’t think he is there?
If you are experiencing a desert season, ask a friend to be there for you, pray for you, and share God’s word with you.
Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I know that life is not easy, but that doesn’t mean you don’t care for or love me. Heavenly Father, when it seems like you’re not listening or I can’t hear you, help me go to your Word and soak up the scripture I need now and for what you have planned for me. Lord, bring relationships into my life that help me and others grow in you.
Amen