As this short book comes to a close, I want to remind you that it’s ok to grieve. It’s ok to feel anger. It’s ok to feel hurt. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok. You can feel those things. You can express all of that to God. God is big enough to handle it.
When you read chapter 5 of Lamentations, you see all of those feelings from Jeremiah, as he expresses them to God.
The language is colorful. The tone is full of pain.
Here’s how the book wraps up:
And yet, God, you’re sovereign still,
your throne intact and eternal.
So why do you keep forgetting us?
Why dump us and leave us like this?
Bring us back to you, God—we’re ready to come back.
Give us a fresh start.
As it is, you’ve cruelly disowned us.
You’ve been so very angry with us.”
Don’t you want it to end two lines earlier than it actually does? I wanted it to end with “Bring us back to you, God – we’re ready to come back. Give us a fresh start.”
That would be a good ending. An ending of hope. An ending that is really a new beginning.
But Jeremiah doesn’t end it that way.
He ends it in true lament fashion. Because he’s still in it.
When you’re in it, it’s tough to have hope, and that’s okay.
I’ll post this video again, from Dr. Edith Eva Eger, a Holocaust survivor. May it help you and may God help you.
Omer Redden 