In the midst of suffering

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness”

- Lamentations 3:22-24

A verse which has multiple promises within it. The promise of steadfast non-faltering love. The promise that despite all things, mercies will continue to be showered on us. The promise of a new day, a fresh start, forgiveness. The promise of faithfulness.

As powerful as this verse is, the preceding verses Lamentations 3: 1-21 give it its weight in gold.

Jeremiah, the prophet who failed. The prophet who never had anything to show for his work. The man who never saw God's work in Jerusalem come to fruition, speaks about his anguish, his suffering. He feels the suffering of the nation as well. He personifies the pain and the darkness felt by Jerusalem and cries out to God.

When nations go through times of tragedy and tribulation, the greatest suffering always takes place at the individual level. - Ryker

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Sounds like what we are going through, what we have been doing as a community. Crying out for the atrocities that are occurring in this city, but also crying out to God because there is suffering internally also.

What is most painful about the passage is the fact that Jeremiah says that God led him through the darkness, he is suffering because of God’s anger.

And yet, after listing out these painful experiences, Jeremiah calls the verse of promises to his mind and is hopeful.

Jeremiah took his suffering and anguish to God. When things are bad, I tend to run away from God to hide my suffering under a false smile, from people and from God. I deny God relationship when I am in the storm.

I know I have struggled to feel ‘productive’ to feel like I'm ‘useful’, I have sought to see the fruits of my labour immediately and need approval from the world that what I'm doing has value. In this time, all those things have been stripped away. I'm left with going to God relating the latest news about suffering and anguish. To tell Him that now more than ever I feel hopeless. I want to move into a space where I can take it a step further and see the promises of God as more than ‘feel good’ verses but as windows to God revealing His plan. Not only for me but for the city as well.

What about you?

Aarti Kumar

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