One of the most asked questions throughout the ages is, how can a loving God cause or allow pain and suffering? Some might say this question is blasphemous, but we may have asked it too. We aren’t supposed to know or maybe be able to understand the answers to every tragedy. Focusing on unanswerable questions can leave us feeling hopeless. God wants to comfort us, so he included chapter 3 in the book of Lamentations for that reason.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
The Logic of the Heart
Lamentations is likely written by God’s prophet Jeremiah and is not a book of doctrine but poetry. Pain can alter our sense of reason, and we can unknowingly develop a doctrine based on emotion, not truth. In the first part of Chapter 3, Jeremiah expresses his feelings as facts. The unfettered release of his emotions shows us that God’s prophet isn’t immune to believing the worst. Overwhelming feelings can seem like truth, but they aren’t; they are the flawed logic of the heart. Even the most extraordinary men and women of God experienced doubts, questions, and hopelessness.
He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;17 my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness[a] is; 18 so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:16
Deep Calls to Deep
God came down to earth in the flesh and was touched by all tragedies. Jesus faced homelessness and uncertainty, complaining about children and followers, competition, and jealousy among his friends. Influential people and large crowds criticized, challenged, and targeted him. He experienced fame and love from crowds who flippantly turned and chanted for his death. The rejection of those he loved as they chose a vile criminal over him. He was beaten and mocked by those he came to save. And fell under the weight of his punishment, the cross. He was mocked while helplessly watching friends and family grieve over his suffering. It’s not an accident that we can find each part of our sorrow in his experiences. He calls from his depth of pain to ours.
Deep calls to deep at the [thundering] sound of Your waterfalls;
Psalms 42:7
Getting Real
We don’t get anywhere with God by pretending that everything is okay. God is both truth and love, and one can’t exist without the other. We love poems and music because they speak to our hearts and souls. When any author finds a way to relate to our feelings, we feel understood and not so alone. Our God, the lover of our soul, provides this in the Bible. Jeremiah lamented his pain and hopelessness in several verses; however, he does this and comes to his prayer. He asks God to remember his pain, and that’s it. This tells me there was a change; Jeremiah didn’t ask God to care but to remember his pain.
Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20 My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.
Lamentaions 3:19-20
Hope In Our Pain
When we are brought to our knees by the weight of hopelessness, we can relate with Jeremiah and follow his example. First, remember God’s character even though it conflicts with our feelings. This is where he found it, and we can always find our hope. Jeremiah spent so much time (like we do) describing our feelings reveling the pain, and even thinking God must be punishing us. Things radically turned for Jeremiah when he began to think about the truth of God’s goodness. Merely thinking of and speaking the truth of God’s goodness is the key to grabbing onto hope within our pain. This is faith.
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;[b] 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.”
Lamentations 3:21-24
Prayer
Lord, I pray for everyone reading this now. Please give them the courage to be honest, to allow the thoughts that you are there with them in their pain. I pray that, although they may not know why they are going through this, you will comfort them right where they are. You give them the courage to believe that you are their ever-present help in this time of trouble.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present[b] help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1
