Till We Are Home

When darkness rolls on you, when it washes over you like a storm, when it hits you out of nowhere, where do you turn? How do you react to the trials and tribulations of this life? There are small storms that seem to wave over us like the breeze ruffling our collar. Then, there are the gusts that smack us against the wall and pin us there until who knows how long.

In those seasons, in the storms that roll over us in hurricane force, what can we do?

I don’t know how you react to the difficulties you face in life. Oftentimes, I will go searching for someone who understands. Maybe there is an older saint in our church or even in my past that has walked through something similar. Difficulties in ministry, hard seasons at work, even challenges we face in our home, maybe there’s someone around who could help me understand how to think through it all, to even take that next step.

When it comes to those “lesser” storms of life, the ones that are still painful and hard, but we know are not the “worst” we’ve ever faced, it may be a little easier to find someone to help, some word to comfort and guide. However, in the larger storms and the situations that knock us down and pin us to the ground, it can be a little more difficult to find someone who understands. It can be difficult to even open our Bible and find the casual passage to bring help.

By God’s grace, though, the Bible is not silent. Even in seasons of great distress, God’s Word is sufficient. In fact, there are numerous places we can go from the stories of Joseph, Job, Ruth, the Psalms, David, Paul, Stephen, and especially Jesus. All of these provide wonderful commiseration in times of trouble. We can glean so much, with the Spirit’s help, in our seasons of trouble.

In my opinion, Lamentations offers help so rich in those extreme seasons of sorrow. In this book, we find Jeremiah lamenting over the destruction of Jerusalem. As we read, he hear that all…all is lost.

Gone are the people of God.

Gone is that great city.

Gone is the center of worship of their great God.

Gone is goodness, hope, and comfort.

Darkness reigns and all hope is lost. Jeremiah sits in the middle of the city, looks around, and finds absolutely no light or evidence of what he knew to be God’s favor to His people. He describes horrific scenes of mothers eating their children. He tells of the destruction of the city’s walls that once afforded protection from enemies. Festivals and feasts that brought joy and happiness are now gone completely.

There are times in some of our lives when we find something similar. In a life wrecked by sin and living in a world infected with our sin, some of us face such harrowing seasons of destruction. We can understand the prophet’s words more personally. 

We know the nights of weeping bitterly and finding none around us to truly bring comfort: “She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks;” (Lam 1:2a)

We remember the days of old that brought us great joy: “Jerusalem remembers in the days of her affliction and wandering all the precious things that were hers from days of old.” (Jer 1:7a)

Oh, how true this can feel: “and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes;” (Lam 2:4b)

And, we feel the indignation of others who may even raise blame against us: “All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: ‘Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?’” (Lam 2:15)

Lamentations is filled with so many more images that resonate with the sufferer who is in the throes of a great pain. In these words, we can feel a mourner’s understanding for our grief. We hear the thoughts of our own and the wonderings of where God is in the midst of all this. 

Its strength is also in the truth that seasons like this can be long and enveloping. What I mean is, when we are in heavy seasons of grief and loss, there are not many (if any at all) moments of joy or partings of the clouds. We can experience these brief respites in “lighter” seasons of difficulty. Yet, in heavy seasons, it can feel all-encompassing.

Lamentations is full of this from cover-to-cover. Yes, it ends on a note where the prophet cries out to the Lord. Yet, even in his cry, he is unsure if the Lord will relent. “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old— unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.” (Lam 5:21-22)

Its pages are full of understanding for the sufferer…but also brings light into darkness. And this is why I absolutely love the book of Lamentations. In the blazing center of the book is the blazing center of our hope in times of great sorrow. Lamentations 3 has become an anthem for me.

Jeremiah turns his lament personally, going from a lament for the city and its people to focusing on himself. He explains how he personally has felt the turning of the screws upon himself by the Lord. He’s the man who’s seen affliction, felt the rod of God’s wrath, been besieged with bitterness and tribulation, torn to pieces by God, become a laughingstock to others, and filled with bitterness. 

Then, in the midst of his anguish, the Lord brings light. In the darkest of our days, God brings the brightest light of Himself. Jeremiah remembers who his God truly is. 

The days of old when Jeremiah was saturated in the Word of God, the communion with Him from days past usher in memories and remembrances of God’s character. Jeremiah remembers that God’s steadfast love never ceases. He recalls God’s unending mercies. He remembers God’s goodness still comes for those who wait for Him. He encourages himself that in the midst of grief brought on by the Lord, He will bring compassion through God’s steadfast love. 

Jeremiah remembers that despite the circumstances he faces, God has not changed. God still loves him. God is near. Thus, he should “return to the Lord,” and “lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven,” (Lam 3:40-41). 

Circumstances in life may not change. We may not be “rescued” out of hard days. Remember, Jeremiah was the “weeping prophet”, he saw horrific things throughout his life. And, he lived through the worst days in Israel’s history, never seeing the restoration of God’s people out of bondage and exile. 

Yet, Lamentations 3 is evidence that his hope was not in the circumstances of life. His hope was in God, and God alone.

When we find ourselves in the midst of harrowing darkness, may we remember the encouragement we can have in Lamentations. We hear of a fellow believer who understands our darkness and the sadness we can feel through hard providences. But even more, we hear words of truth we desperately need to cling to when that darkness envelops us. We need the truth of who God is. We need the help His Word brings and reveals about who God is and what He’s done for us. 

For we even hear from His Word that He knows and carries these sorrows for us, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus is the blazing center of our hope and the great revelation of ultimate light in darkness. We can walk through the storms of life that roll over us, even the ones that do not let up. We can do so because Jesus walks with us, carries our sorrows, and reveals to us God’s great love and nearness to us in Himself. Even in times of great darkness, this is our hope…

Till we are home…