"Jeremiah" by Michelangelo, in the Sistine Chapel
Here's the deal. I believed in God from a very young age. Furthermore, this faith was far more than mere belief, but a true salvation with a gracious effectual call from my God.
In spite of this, my life has been a series of wanderings, and never really a full fledged understanding of who God is, and flowing from that, a true relationship.
That last three years of my life has changed that. I am not saying that I am somehow perfect, far from it actually, but I know have an understanding that I never before possessed.
This understanding has come from nearly two years of intensive study of God's word. No more will I dream up a God of my own fantasies, but rely on the Scriptures to reveal his character.
Having perhaps finally hit the bottom of my personal "day of the Lord", I can see with new eyes the lament of Jeremiah (the probable writer of Lamentations) as he laments the destruction of Israel, and the temple.
What was once a proud, and glorious testament of God, is now completely shattered in ruins, and is no more!
It is from these ashes that Lamentations is written. Only those, perhaps, who have been on the receiving end of such things will understand.
Lamentations is written to instruct, and remind us of the nature of sin, pain, redemption, and God's sovereignty.
From my ESV Study Bible:
"Lamentations is not an emotional outburst but a formal expression of grief in a high literary style. However, each lament moves rapidly from one topic to the next, revealing that the writer's soul is still in turmoil. Like most elegies, the lyrics in Lamentations deal with profound loss by recollecting past glories and cataloging what is now gone forever, lamenting the finality of the losses while at the same time seeking consolation in present sorrows and some hope for the future."
There are a great many hurting in our land today. Perhaps a read through the book of Lamentations would help them use God's sovereign history, to bring them a calming balm today.
