Lamentations 5:21-22 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old 22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.
We like happy endings, stories where the tensions resolve, legends are born, heroes win the fight. We don’t like being left hanging, unless of course there is a part 2 to the story. We don’t like “to be continued” to flash at the end of the episode. We want resolution now!
But life doesn’t fit into neatly packaged boxes, all wrapped up and pretty. Life is messy. People die horrible deaths, too soon and in unexpected ways. And some people live way too long, in too good a health and able to do so much damage to others.
This whole book of Lamentations has been about the struggle to express our deepest cries when suffering hits. It gives voice to the pain and sorrow, the loss and questions, the struggles to try and make sense of it all. It offers only glimpses of hope. No platitudes here!
And we find ourselves at the end of the book and our verse close it out. The prayer is for restoration, a return to the good old days. If the book ended there, we could live with that. That is a good prayer. But then it continues “unless.”
There are moments in life when we don’t see the resolution we desire. The prayer puts this into words. “Unless.” The LORD had not utterly rejected them or was angry with them beyond measure. With the LORD there is always a path to return. There is always a measure to His anger, a measure that matches the sin.
But in the middle of the intense suffering and emotions, our author voices the feeling that they might be beyond hope because of their sin. Maybe this time, in contrast to the other times when the LORD turned back to them in response to their repentance, maybe this time they had gone too far. Maybe they weren’t willing to repent.
That is why he prays for the LORD’s restoration. It is not up to them. The LORD must intervene and give them new hearts and minds. It is His work that will alone bring them back. They had tried their way and failed. Only the LORD can fix it.
So today, as you face things that are beyond your ability to fix, join with the writer and pray for His restoration. His power, grace and mercy can overcome any obstacle, if there is a broken heart and spirit calling out. When we let Him do His work, we fade into the background and the light shines on Him and His glory. He becomes the headline in our life. He is the central thread that ties all of history together, even the thread that runs through our lives as Jesus-followers.
The Arnold Journey 