Believe

My soul is bereft of peace.

I have forgotten what happiness is;

so I say, ‘My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the Lord.’ ”

— Lamentations 3:17–18

“I have forgotten what happiness is….” It sounds so dramatic, but I’ve had those moments, and I bet you have, too.

Moments get honestly low. Times get impossibly tough. Not one of us is exempt from the reality of grief, and I don’t doubt that every one of us sitting down together today can call to mind a moment when our endurance has threatened to perish.

I’ve never been the victim of a bear attack or been shot at with an arrow, but I can undoubtedly recall seasons of “grinding my teeth on gravel,” as the Lamenter so vividly puts it.

Something minor, yet monumental, stuck out to me in verse 21—the moment the entire book of Lamentations climaxes—when the author’s sense of rejection by God shifts to confidence in Him. Pay attention to his words here:

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.”

The author of Lamentations (believed to be Jeremiah, but no one knows for sure) doesn’t say, “But this is what I think is going to happen,” or even, “But this is what I wish would happen.” The turning point of Lamentations is not a moment of speculation. No! He remembers something! Something he knows is true.

The author is calling to mind a truth he already knows, and it’s something that—despite the bears and arrows and rocks in his teeth—gives him a sure hope at the very moment his endurance is perishing:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.”

— Lamentations 3:22–23

“Call to mind,” you see, is a choice. It means this thought is not naturally in there—we have to put it there. It’s what D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called “preaching to ourselves.” He said, “There is a sense in which the primary task of the Scriptures is to teach us how to talk to ourselves.”

Our emotions don’t have brains. They can’t think. They can’t show faith. We have to think for them. We have to show faith, and then tell our brains how to feel.

Photo by Andy Montes de Oca on Unsplash

We must never feel our way into our beliefs; we have to believe our way into our feelings.

After multiple verses about himself, his feelings, and his extreme disappointment, Jeremiah turns the corner and changes his focus. He abruptly stops thinking about himself and ‘recalls’ to his mind some of the things he knows about God.

The list of remembrances about God isn’t comprehensive, but it doesn’t need to be. It is enough. It is enough to cause Jeremiah to move from darkness into light and hope because of what he remembers about God.

We can use the same discipline of choosing to think about God when we are angry, sad, bored, discouraged, confused, depressed, or fearful.

You may, like Jeremiah, feel forsaken. You may be walking through a valley of despair. But this you must call to mind: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).

Please Pray For: for our new partnership with Beth T’Filah, a Messianic Jewish community.

Please Pray: that every church will be vibrant, filled with the power and working of Your Holy Spirit.

Please Pray For: for Joey who will undergo foot surgery

Please Pray For: for the family of Eddie Crews

Please Pray For: Will, that his tongue would heal and he would find employment

Please Thank God For: Lori, for wisdom guidance and provision in the midst of her storm.

Please Pray For: for a friend of Kim’s who is recovering from a heart attack.

Please Pray For: Paula Marshal and Sue Stuart

Please Pray For: Arlene, for healing and a place to live

Please Thank God For: Tatum, whose liver biopsy results are due back soon.

Please Pray For: Kenety Gee as he begins work in a new church plant.

Please Thank God For: The healing of Robert Fischer who had developed a kidney infection

Please Pray For: Mike Taylor, that he would continue to receive healing from his seizures.

Please Pray For: Jennifer, her addiction and her children who are being put in foster care

Please Thank God For: Joshua Recker has completed another round of chemo.

Please Pray For: The full recovery of Camilla Barbaresco, a five year old who is battling cancer..

Please Pray For: Gary casino who has covid and sepsis

Please Pray For: Louise Shriver who recently lost of her son

Please Thank God For: Bill Galant who is recovering from his motorcycle accident

Please Pray For: Javier and Hannah and their upcoming wedding

Please Thank God For: Mary Jane and her daughter Misty whose tumor was benign