What do you do when your entire world falls apart around you? When everything flies out of your control and situations turn for the worse and loved ones die and you’re swamped in seemingly hopeless suffering? The world says those are the times when God’s love is proven to be utterly nonexistent. And yet there are still those faithful believers who even still look to the Lord with unquenched, ludicrous trust. When all hope seems lost, how can hope possibly still persevere?
The entire book of Lamentations is the poured-out hopeless wailings of a soul in mourning, except for this small portion right in the middle. Jeremiah had just witnessed the fall of Jerusalem. Though he spent several back-breaking years rebuking sin and warning of judgment, no one ever listened to him, and now the consequence had overtaken them. The city was in flames. The nation of Israel was scattered. God’s promises of protection and prosperity had been nullified, and he seemed to no longer be with them. And yet through all this, Jeremiah still held onto an elusive ray of hope. Even still, he maintained an unbroken faith that they would be restored some day because the Lord still loved them, and his mercies were still new every morning. Even with no light at the end of the tunnel, he still waited for daylight.
It’s okay for tragedies to devastate our hearts, and it’s okay to cry out in agony. So much of the Old Testament poetry is there primarily to sympathize with us in those very situations. But remember also that God is still good. It’s one thing to say God is good when blessings are abounding, but it’s another to remember his goodness even when our worlds are falling apart. The Lord is still faithful. He is still all we need. He still loves us and hears our prayers. He has still never failed you and still never will. Just as Jeremiah sat in bitter hopelessness and still eagerly awaited the day of Christ when God would restore what was broken, we can do the same. Wait for the Lord; he is still coming to make all things new, and he will surely not fail.
