Lamentations 3:22-24 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Have you noticed how difficult it is to stay in ‘lockdown’ mode? We want to break out and go back to life as we knew it. And we are not alone in this feeling. Businesses desperately want to resume their trade. They want income to save their business and their livelihoods. They want to be able to pay their employees.
People want to be able to go to the beach, a movie, a mall, a restaurant, a gym. They want their lives back. We want to be able to invite friends and family over for a cookout and not have to be concerned about getting COVID-19.
We want to be able to go to church and worship together. We want to give and receive hugs and handshakes. We want our kids to return to school (and get out of our hair!) ((That last part I’m not allowed to say, so I put it in parentheses.))
The Israelites were in captivity, forcibly taken from their homes and lands, lives upended and reshaped, living in harsh conditions in a foreign country. Everything they knew had changed. All their routines of daily life were now different. They knew friends and loved ones who had died. Those things that brought them comfort have been torn away from their hands. Does any of this sound familiar?
In the voice of a funeral song, the author of Lamentations gives voice to these deepest pains and anguish. In this third chapter of the book the structure has changed slightly from the previous and following chapters. This is still an alphabet poem in Hebrew, but each letter of the alphabet is repeated three times, 3 A’s, 3 B’s, ect. at the begging of three successive verses. (See yesterday’s post for more details.)
This structure brackets the verses into sets of three verses that often have a common theme or message that creates part of the tapestry of mourning. So what does our triplet of verses for today tell us?
These verses give a glimmer of hope in the middle of great pain and sorrow. If you read the chapter you might notice that the first twenty one verses talk a lot about “Me” and “I”. The focus of those verses is on the suffering individual. It is a lone voice crying out. Starting in verse 40 is shifts again to “we.” It starts to speak as a group. Then in verse 48 the focus shifts back to the individual, but with a hopeful tone.
But when we hit our verses in the middle of this chapter the subject of the verses changes. It is no longer the individual or the group who is in focus. Suddenly the focus shifts to the LORD. He is One who is the subject. He becomes the focus.
It can be very difficult when we are suffering to lift our eyes and see the LORD’s hand in our suffering without becoming angry and bitter. But this is exactly what the author avoids. Instead, the author focuses on God’s character. He never fails. Israel and Judah failed miserably, so much so that they ended up in Exile for their rebellion. The LORD is faithful to His people.
Ravi Zacharius used to say that questions about suffering and evil often point out more about the person asking than about the nature and character of God. When someone knows the LORD, deeply and intimately, then suffering can be grieved and endured. But when our picture of God excludes even a hint of suffering, since He is too weak or unwilling to use it, then people turn and reject the faith. Their monolithic picture narrows the instruments that the LORD can use. They become the arbiter of good and evil.
Some of the sweetest conversations I have had with people over the years are with those who have suffered the most and allowed the LORD to be with them and speak to them in those times. There is a message that can only be heard by those who suffer. But this can be very difficult to do in real life.
The last phrase of our text tells us the reason. We must be willing to wait. Yikes! That is an impossible demand. If I can’t get it delivered today, then the service deserves a bad review, right?
But a large part of the Christian experience, and non-Christian experience, is waiting. And we in the West, and the United States in particular, really hate to wait. The exiles had to wait 70 years before the promise of return to Jerusalem would happen. Even Jesus had to wait in the tomb for three days!
But in the middle of his questioning and suffering our writer looks at the LORD’s character and is willing to wait for Him. When we know Him, really know Him, then the vicissitudes of life are known and expected. Things get better and they get worse, only to get better again. The one constant in life is change.
So today, as you go about your life, limited as it is, remember that this life is but a breath compared to eternity. The LORD has promised good things for us, many of which will not happen in this life, but only in the next. Make the most of these moments by remembering the LORD and His faithfulness.
The Arnold Journey 