“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I
have hope: Because of the LORD’s
great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new
every morning; great is your faithfulness,” (Lamentations 3:19-24 NIV).
Are we brave enough to be real and honest with God? We might as well be; He knows our hearts inside and out anyway. A. W. Tozer, in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote:
God knew the real me before I even knew myself. David wrote, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:4 NIV). Knowing what He knew and knows, it is a wonder that He even gives me the time of day. And to think, He gives us the time of our lives!
Jeremiah was a mighty man of God who was not afraid to be real before His maker. He wrote, “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath. He has driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Surely against me He has turned His hand repeatedly all the day. He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship. In dark places He has made me dwell, like those who have long been dead” (Lamentations 3:1-6 NASB).
Jeremiah was mad and he was mad at God. As far as he was concerned, God was the cause of all his problems. He felt trapped and afraid. He continued, “He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He is to me like a bear lying in wait like a lion in secret places. He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate…So I say, ‘My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the Lord’” (vv.7-11,18 NASB).
Jeremiah was in a bad situation…mostly because he had a wrong perception of God. God did not make him to walk in darkness, cause his flesh to waste away, or break his bones. God had not encompassed him with bitterness or hardship. But Jeremiah had allowed his perception to be skewed by his circumstances.
Even though what Jeremiah had to say was incorrect and certainly painted a bad picture of God, he was able to be real about what he was feeling. Jeremiah did not feel the need to put on a holy mask before an all-knowing God. And you know what? God didn’t strike him dead for being real and saying what was on his heart.
Before we leave poor Jeremiah, let’s notice what happens at the end of his lament. He begins to remember all the times that God had been faithful. “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses… are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I have hope in Him’” (vv. 21-22 NASB).
Jeremiah cleaned the clutter out of his emotional closet and rediscovered the treasures he had forgotten were there. His circumstances didn’t change. God didn’t change. But his attitude and perception of God changed and his emotions followed close behind.
We can learn two lessons from Jeremiah in this passage.
Number 1: We don’t need to be afraid to be real with God.
Number 2: When we’re disappointed with our circumstances, we need to remember all the times God has been faithful, and practice praise, gratitude and thanksgiving to get us out of our hissy fit.
Are we brave enough to be real and honest with God? We might as well be; He knows our hearts inside and out anyway. A. W. Tozer, in his book, The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote:
How unutterably sweet is the knowledge that
our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No talebearer can inform on us; or
enemy can make an accusation stick; no forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out
of some hidden closet to abash us and expose our past; no unsuspected weakness
in our characters can come to light to turn God away from us, since He knew us
utterly before we knew Him and called us to Himself in the full knowledge of
everything that was against us.
God knew the real me before I even knew myself. David wrote, “Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD” (Psalm 139:4 NIV). Knowing what He knew and knows, it is a wonder that He even gives me the time of day. And to think, He gives us the time of our lives!
Jeremiah was a mighty man of God who was not afraid to be real before His maker. He wrote, “I am the man who has seen affliction because of the rod of His wrath. He has driven me and made me walk in darkness and not in light. Surely against me He has turned His hand repeatedly all the day. He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away. He has broken my bones. He has besieged and encompassed me with bitterness and hardship. In dark places He has made me dwell, like those who have long been dead” (Lamentations 3:1-6 NASB).
Jeremiah was mad and he was mad at God. As far as he was concerned, God was the cause of all his problems. He felt trapped and afraid. He continued, “He has walled me in so that I cannot go out; He has made my chain heavy. Even when I cry out and call for help, He shuts out my prayer. He has blocked my ways with hewn stone; He has made my paths crooked. He is to me like a bear lying in wait like a lion in secret places. He has turned aside my ways and torn me to pieces; He has made me desolate…So I say, ‘My strength has perished, and so has my hope from the Lord’” (vv.7-11,18 NASB).
Jeremiah was in a bad situation…mostly because he had a wrong perception of God. God did not make him to walk in darkness, cause his flesh to waste away, or break his bones. God had not encompassed him with bitterness or hardship. But Jeremiah had allowed his perception to be skewed by his circumstances.
Even though what Jeremiah had to say was incorrect and certainly painted a bad picture of God, he was able to be real about what he was feeling. Jeremiah did not feel the need to put on a holy mask before an all-knowing God. And you know what? God didn’t strike him dead for being real and saying what was on his heart.
Before we leave poor Jeremiah, let’s notice what happens at the end of his lament. He begins to remember all the times that God had been faithful. “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses… are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I have hope in Him’” (vv. 21-22 NASB).
Jeremiah cleaned the clutter out of his emotional closet and rediscovered the treasures he had forgotten were there. His circumstances didn’t change. God didn’t change. But his attitude and perception of God changed and his emotions followed close behind.
We can learn two lessons from Jeremiah in this passage.
Number 1: We don’t need to be afraid to be real with God.
Number 2: When we’re disappointed with our circumstances, we need to remember all the times God has been faithful, and practice praise, gratitude and thanksgiving to get us out of our hissy fit.
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