Context

The author, possibly Jeremiah was in grief over what has happened to Jerusalem and the Temple. (You can read about it in 2 kings 25 and Jeremiah 52)

What was it like?

- There was a famine- mothers were eating their own children- young and old lay dead in the streets. There was no one to burry them

The Babylonians burned and desecrated the Temple and the city

Jeremiah was in captivity (at the time of writing the book of Lamentations) and was looking back

It was especially grievous because Jeremiah saw his homeland as an untouchable city and Temple of God

In Lamentations, there are 5 chapters of lament with 1 chapter of hope

Jeremiah was feeling the following general feelings:

Bitterness, tears, weeping, betrayal, affliction distress, desolate, groaning, grieving, anguish, weakness, hopelessness, destruction, uncleanliness, nakedness, filthiness, despised, suffering, faint, rejected torment, disturbed

Jeremiah had the following feelings towards God

In darkness (3:2)

Can’t get out of it (3:7)

Unanswered prayers (3:8)

Alone (3:11)

Without peace (3:17)

The author has hit rock bottom- he’s in the pit!

He is at the point where all hope dies (3:19-20)

He’s beyond help

He is wondering why are things so bad, why does life stink? Where is God in all of this? Can I get through this?

Why was all this happening? Why was he feeling this way?

Sin brought God’s wrath (1:5, 8, 14, 18, 22)

(4:13, 22)

(5:7,16)

God does not willingly bring us grief- some is our own fault.

Often we do not need Satan’s help to get ourselves in a mess and feel like God is far away from us. (3:33)

We have the freedom of choice and sometimes we choose to be far from God by what we do.

Sometimes, our wrong choices bring discipline to our lives. (Hebrews 12:5-6) And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

Sometimes we have walked away from God and that is why we feel the way we do.

Ultimately, any sin in our lives causes separation between us and God and results in feelings similar to those Jeremiah was feeling.

At this point, Jerusalem b/c of their sins has felt the full wrath of God and feels like God has left them and given up on them because of their terrible sins.

For many of us, we feel like God has left us because of what we are going through in this life. Sometimes, life just really stinks (not necessarily because we have sinned and brought it upon ourselves) and we wonder where is God in all of this mess?

But there is hope

Read 3:21-32

In the midst of the disaster, we can see a flicker of faith, a final hope in the only one who can redeem us from our situation

The author realizes that he and the nation has messed up, they have sinned, but they also remember God’s character

When we go through tough times, we need to remember the character of God.

4 IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GOD’S CHARACTER

1. (3:22) God’s love is Great (Romans 8:35-39) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. (3:22) God’s compassion never fails. We can not sin so much that God will run out of compassion for us (Romans 5:20) ...But where sin increased, grace increased all the more...

3. (3:25) God is good to us (Romans 8:28) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Psalm 84:11) For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

4. (3:26) God provides salvation- Him alone (Acts 4:12) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Psalms 18:2) The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Because we know the character of God, we must…

…Repent (3:55-58)

God doesn’t hold our sins against us

He is waiting for us to repent

The prophets pleaded with the people of Israel to repent so God could turn away His wrath but they did not listen

…Wait for the Lord to deliver us (3:25-26)

He may not rush to deliver us but we have to believe He will in His timing

We can’t force God to change the mess we got ourselves into. Sometimes, there are lasting consequences for our sinful behavior.

…Learn from our mistakes

Sometimes God leaves us in our mess until we learn our lesson.

Sometimes, we are “brought back into” a mess so we can learn what we did not learn the first time

…Get on with life

Live as a forgiven person who knows the character of God

Get out of the funk you are in.

Get a hug from God and get on with life. Know who He is instead of who you think He is so you can come back to Him, receive your healing, and move on with life.