Hard things are hard.
Sad things are sad.
And painful things, well, they are painful.
First off, you are welcome for sharing with you your daily dose of ‘Tell me something I don’t already know.’
But secondly, and clearly more importantly, this side of heaven, not one of us is promised smooth sailing just because we’re in relationship with God. Some will have a much bumpier ride than others, but as we all know, we will all have to navigate hard, sad, and painful things along the way.
I’m not looking to depress or discourage anyone in this week’s devotional… not at all! Rather, I want to encourage you through the ministry of reminder.
As I continue in this series of devotionals called… HIS WORD, I wanted to share with you a few verses from Lamentations. And if it’s been a while since you’ve visited Lamentations in the Old Testament, well, the name of the book sums up well what’s happening. Jeremiah, a prophet of God is ‘lamenting’ all that the people of God are having to endure.
And one of the things that I love about this Old Testament book is how brutally honest Jeremiah is. See that with me in these few verses…
“For all these things I weep; tears flow down my cheeks. No one is here to comfort me… My heart is broken and my soul despairs… I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony.”
Lamentations 1:16, 20; 2:11 (NLT)
Needless to say, Jeremiah was in a world of hurt as he and his people were enduring all sorts of devastation and destruction. And as I mentioned above, I’m thankful that Jeremiah is honest with how hard things are for him personally.
In other words, I’m thankful that Jeremiah does not try to sugar-coat anything, nor does he try to over-spiritualize the moment he is in.
If you were to have told Jeremiah… “Hey, don’t forget that God is still sovereign and in-control of all things.” Well, I’m pretty sure Jeremiah would have said, “I KNOW… but my pain is still painful and this crazy hard thing I’m walking through is still super hard.”
Here’s my point… BE HONEST. Don’t be rude or disrespectful when it comes to being honest with God, but I can tell you that He already knows how you feel and what you’re thinking. Thus, share with Him all of those things, because in doing so, He will be able to meet you exactly where you are and give you exactly what you need in order to take the next step.
Here’s how the LORD met Jeremiah in the midst of a brutally painful moment in his life. See that with me in Jeremiah 3:20-24…
“The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”
I won’t seek to unpack all of those verses as I think you get the point. At the height of Jeremiah’s discouragement, God in His goodness met Jeremiah where He was and enabled him to REMEMBER a truth that no amount of pain could wash away.
Such a great turning point for Jeremiah…
“When I remember this…”
When Jeremiah was truthful with how he was ‘feeling’, he was also reminded of what is true of God… No amount of devastation will ever cancel out the faithful love of God that has no end.
Whatever season you are in today, be honest. Tell God where you’re at so that you can be reminded by God of where’s He at with you.
To state the obvious for you one more time just in case you forgot…
Hard things are hard.
Sad things are sad.
And painful things, well, they are painful.
BUT… upon acknowledging that, like Jeremiah, try declaring…
“When I remember this…”
To the nearly 1700 people on our weekly email distribution list, I’m praying for you right now that whatever season you find yourself in today that you’d be able to finish the above sentence with…
‘God has me… God is for me… and because of that, I will rest in His unending love for me.’
