Jerusalem was engulfed in flames, and the prophet Jeremiah wept. His
prediction of divine judgment had largely gone unheeded. Now his terrible
prophecy had come to pass with horrifying vividness. The short book of
Lamentations records the prophet’s grieving process over the destruction of
Jerusalem.
Jeremiah organized the book around the 22 letters of the Hebrew
alphabet, using a technique of alphabetic acrostics to aid the reader in
memorizing the passages more easily. But using this technique also shows that
he didn’t cut short his grieving process. He took deliberate and intentional
time to reflect upon and even to write down his heartbreak. You might say he
was learning to grieve from A to Z.
In the midst of his grief, the comfort of God surfaced. Reminders of
God’s sovereignty and goodness gave the prophet hope as he faced the future:
“The Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show
compassion according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lam. 3:31-32).
If you’ve recently experienced a painful loss, remember to take adequate
time to grieve and to reflect upon God’s goodness. Then you will be able to
experience His comfort and hope for the future.
God allows sorrows and tears today
to open our hearts to the joys of tomorrow. (RBC)
