All Is Not Lost

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.”  Lamentations 3:21

Jeremiah had spent 40 to 50 years prophesying to the people of Judah, giving them God’s warning to them to repent and turn from their idolatry, otherwise judgment was on its way.  As the people of Judah and Israel had done many times before, they ignored the warnings and, this particular time, judgment was extremely harsh.  Many died, Jerusalem was destroyed, including the revered temple, and many were taken captive to Babylon for 70 years.  The book of Lamentations is a compilation of Jeremiah’s sorrow for what his fellow Jews were having to experience, and for himself, because even though he was obedient unto the LORD, he still suffered.  Sin doesn’t always affect just the sinner, but the sin that you or I commit can cause collateral damage among our loved ones.

Peace was nonexistent to Jeremiah as was comfort and prosperity.  He had nothing left and nothing to which to look forward.  He felt like all hope and strength was gone.  He was so focused on his own misery that his suffering was all he could think about for now.  This bitter cup of which he had to drink left an unforgettable bad taste in his soul.  There was one positive aspect of his misery, though; it made him humble.

All was not lost for Jeremiah.  His complaints were real.  He had suffered tremendously even though he had been an obedient servant of the LORD most high.  Sometimes believers get the notion that if they are obedient followers of Christ, if they strive for excellence, and live as closely by God’s word as humanly possible, then they expect that everything will go well for them, and that there won’t be any hardships or suffering.  That was Job’s belief as well as the ancient Jews of Israel.  If a man prospered, it was a sign that he was right with God, but if he was suffering, he must not be living as God intended.  However, when hardships and suffering come to those folks who live by this man-made theory, they become disillusioned and question their faith.  They fail to consider that there were many troubles from which God did protect them, and that He allows suffering to keep His people humble and dependent on Him.  God knows the human heart.  If His people were allowed to live near-perfect lives, 99 percent of them would neglect worship, Bible study, and especially prayer, putting God on the “back burner” so to speak.  That’s exactly what happened to Israel and Judah.  God had very generously blessed them, giving them the promised land, causing them to be victorious against their enemies, but they took Him and His grace for granted, turning to idolatry, and thus receiving judgment.  They wouldn’t believe the words of Jeremiah, but rather believed the false prophets who told them that everything was okay, and that punishment would not be that bad (Jeremiah 23:16-17).

There was only one answer to the suffering of Jeremiah and of God’s people which was the realization that their hope was still in the LORD.  Jeremiah began to think of the goodness of God.  The LORD wanted His family back.  It was as if they had been kidnapped by Satan through his influence, and before you know it, they became sympathetic with their idolatrous neighbors, rather than fighting against them, they were affected somewhat by what we call today, “the Stockholm Syndrome”.  God’s people, in the beginning of their relationship with the LORD, knew that idolatry was wrong, but little by little, they began to think and act like their idolatrous neighbors, and before long they were into full-blown idol worship, abandoning their Creator and Benefactor.  The people had sunk so deeply into sin that it would take an extremely harsh measure to wake them up to their sin, cause them to repent, and to return unto the LORD.   That old saying is so true:  sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer that you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.

Even in their despair, there was still a glimmer of hope.  Jeremiah felt it, and likely did many of the captives.  Hope is the only thing that keeps folks from devastating despair.  If hope is all one has left, then one is not destitute.  When Jeremiah began to think on the goodness of the LORD, it gave him hope.  All he had to do was to keep his mind focused on the LORD and His promises.

Next time:  God’s Mercies Bring Hope