Todays Reading Lamentations 3:1-33 1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. 2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light. 3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand against me all day long. 4 He has worn away my flesh and skin; He has shattered my bones. 5 He has laid siege against me, encircling me with bitterness and hardship. 6 He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages. 7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. 8 Even when I cry out and plead for help, He rejects my prayer. 9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones; He has made my paths crooked. 10 He is a bear waiting in ambush, a lion in hiding. 11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces; He left me desolate. 12 He strung His bow and set me as the target for His arrow. 13 He pierced my kidneys with His arrows. 14 I am a laughingstock to all my people, mocked by their songs all day long. 15 He filled me with bitterness, satiated me with wormwood. 16 He ground my teeth on gravel and made me cower in the dust. 17 My soul has been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is. 18 Then I thought: My future is lost, as well as my hope from the Lord.19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison. 20 I continually remember them and have become depressed. 21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord ’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! 24 I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him. 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. 26 It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. 27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young. 28 Let him sit alone and be silent, for God has disciplined him. 29 Let him put his mouth in the dust — perhaps there is still hope. 30 Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him; let him be filled with shame. 31 For the Lord will not reject us forever. 32 Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. 33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Recall Hope by Lauren O’Neill Click here for this week’s JourneyOn Today video. Jeremiah is writing this chapter from a position of assurance, authority, and healthy perspective. His posture is that of a person remembering when he used to be afflicted, but has come through it. He is explaining the things he learned during a difficult season of his life for the purpose of recalling hope and sharing with others the truth of God’s loving-kindness. Looking back is an important discipline for every believer, for the sake of remembering the road we have traveled and the things God has shown us along the way. None of us have gotten to the place we are today without hundreds of small victories and failures strewn behind us. We all have stories that testify to our humanity, our need for a Savior, and the loving-kindness of God. Jeremiah’s story is one of thousands written for the purpose of sharing what God has done – the ways He has been present, the ways He has disciplined, and ultimately the ways He has loved. “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath.” (v.1, NASB) Jeremiah reveals the darker part of his story, the part he may be least proud of, and the discipline he received from the hand of God. Although we don’t know what he was being disciplined for, we each have likely experienced a similar form of righteous discipline at some point in our lives. Jeremiah said it is good to have been disciplined by the hand of God (v.27-30). He remembers the times when God humbled him – “Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.” (v.20, NASB) Those times made him better. They tempered him to receive God’s forgiveness for his flaws and his wrongs. He also learned a lot about God’s character. As he mentions in verse 31, those times helped him understand that God doesn’t reject us forever. “For if He causes grief, then He will have compassion.” (v.32) He also learned that God does not enjoy disciplining us or causing us pain, but He does it for our good and to eventually bring true joy to our hearts. (v.24, 25) When I look back through journals I’ve written, I can read about similar moments in my own life – times when I experienced discipline at the hand of God for the purpose of refining my character. He has been present with me in my victories – but it is so sweet to see how He has also been present with me after my failures! As Jeremiah says in verses 21 and 22, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.” It is important to note that not all affliction enters into our lives as a form of direct discipline from God. Sometimes we experience affliction simply because we are members of the human race and we are living in a fallen world. (Genesis 3) In those moments, we also need to have a way to remember the loving-kindness of God. Whether it’s looking back at old journals, or asking God through prayer to help us remember the things He has done for us, we can cultivate gratefulness as a result of our pain and grief. And ultimately we can have confidence that no matter where the afflictions come from – all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose . (Romans 8:28) Every morning when we wake, the Lord’s compassions are new for us. And as Jeremiah states so simply and beautifully in verse 23, we can also look back on our afflictions with hope and say to our God: Great is Your faithfulness . Praxis Jeremiah said it was good to be disciplined by the hand of God, for a man to “bear the yoke in his youth” (v.27). Is this a statement you agree with? Why or why not? Does it impact the way you are raising your children now? Does it impact the way you interact with those you supervise or oversee at work? In verse 20 we see an example of brokenness. “Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.” (NASB) Brokenness and repentance are signs of a healthy walk with Christ. (Prov. 28:13; Acts 3:19) Journaling sometimes helps me to clearly see my sin, write it down, confess it in prayer, and then move on with my life in the mercy of Christ’s forgiveness. If you journal, have you ever tried using those pages as a starting place for confession to God? It is encouraging to look back five years later and remember the loving-kindness of Christ as you read about the ways He forgave you and prepared you to receive more of Himself.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 22:38:04 +0000
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