Go Lament: It’s Biblical
Posted in: Teaching19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Jeremiah, in writing this, is lamenting the fall of the great city of Jerusalem, and the tribes of Israel. But the most important thing is that, even in the middle of his lament, he realizes the Gospel: that because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed. It is ok to grieve and mourn. We are affectionate, passionate people with emotions and feelings, because we are made in the image of God. But even in the midst of our most intimate and intense affections, we must keep the first things first: that Jesus is supreme, and worthy of rejoicing in.
hmmm, that’s fitting…we went to Gettysburg on the way home from my great-grandfather’s funeral today, and granted, my emotions were already off-balance from the weekend, but seeing Gettysburg and being reminded of war and killing and the horrific experiences of each of those men in battle, and the women, especially of the South, trying to keep it together at home…it was just too much. I cried really hard…but I think it good for your heart to break over the mess this world is in and all the terrible things that have been done, at least once in a while. But good to remember too that God is still in control, and He will ultimately be glorified, and His Kingdom will eventually come in fullness, and then there will be no more weeping or mourning or evil or sin or death or suffering.
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