“How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave.” Lamentations 1:1
March 26, 2025
The saddest and most neglected book of the Bible – Lamentations. The prophet Jeremiah pours out his soul over the fall of Jerusalem. The pain of the grief is almost unbearable. We are immediately taken by the truth that holy grief stays in touch with reality. We grieve our losses, but how? Understandably we grieve emotionally over painful changes. However, we must look below the water-line of initial sorrow and see the hand of God in it. What has He removed and why? Remembrance has the value of keeping us conscious of the fragile nature of things in a fallen world. The omissions of a hurried life become unearthed. We who are made of dirt are weak vessels. We overlook the necessary by being bedazzled by sound and light shows, what money buys, impulsive satisfaction which we cannot afford.
Lamentations offers a biblical view of how humans can respond to God in their grief and distress. Are you on board with this excursion? Go ahead and take a deep dive and read the book at one sitting or at least the first chapter.
H
“Dear Lord, what do you want to teach me about loss and how to live through it your way.”