Friday, September 27th, 2024, will be remembered by many, many people from the gulf coast of Florida to southwest Virginia as one of the darkest days of their lives due to the overwhelming impact and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. For just a little more than a week now, families and communities have been attempting to pick up the broken, shattered pieces of their lives. However, there is so much destruction— so much devastation— caused by that storm system that most people are still overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all.
I have found myself wondering these last few days, “What must the people within those communities such as Damascus, Virginia, and Unicoi, Tennessee, and much of western North Carolina as well, be feeling as they look out over the destruction that now surrounds them?” I am convinced that only those of us who have experienced some similar tragedy can possibly identify with the overwhelming emotions and sense of loss those families must be under right now.
Then, too, I have thought of another aspect of this time of turmoil. For those of us who live outside of those affected communities, we all seem to possess an urgent desire to help our neighbors during a time such as this, don’t we? We want to know how we can help those displaced by Helene’s terrible force in practical ways. Admittedly, the administrative – political side of being able to get involved in a “boots on the ground” sort of way can prove to be frustrating. Because responding to such a disaster requires some time for assessing the levels of damage and need; time for planning an effective and efficient strategy to begin recovery and clean up efforts; time to organize groups and volunteers so that their resources may be put to their best use. And we must respect this needed process.
And yet, there is a third question which has been racing through my mind: “What might we possibly say to the individuals and families within those communities to encourage them, and give them hope, within the depths of their souls in a time such as this?” After having some time to ponder these questions, I believe I would be compelled to share the following thoughts with those dear people.
The burden of my heart today is to share that no matter the magnitude of our times of trouble, there is Good News to be declared and experienced even today! And the hope of this Good News lies in the truth that… 1) our God is greater than our times of trouble; 2) His steadfast and faithful love can still heal wounded hearts; and 3) His redeeming grace is still greater than all our sin!
I would also seek to share the following statement by the late Corrie ten Boom, survivor of the Auschwitz Nazi Death Camp— “There is no pit so dark and so deep that the love of God is not greater still.” I have a deep appreciation and fondness for this well-known statement, because it reminds me that there is always hope in, and with, the Lord. In Him, because of Him, through Him there is a genuine, life-changing… “Hope for When the Bottom Falls Out.”
Lamentations 3:1 – 26, 31 – 32 testifies to this truth for us today. The hopelessness and despair which Jeremiah had experienced and expressed turned to hope as he remembered the Lord and His faithful character. Within the context of this book, the Babylonians had totally overrun the people of Judah, the remnant of Israel. Jerusalem and the glory of Solomon’s Temple was desolate and destroyed; her people defeated, displaced, and distraught. In these verses, Jeremiah’s unyielding mood of despair was displaced by a beautiful affirmation of hope despite the suffering he had been enduring— when he chose to remember the Lord, and to rest in His faithfulness.
No matter where you are in life— no matter what life has dealt you— no matter how difficult and demanding life may be in this moment— it is my desire to share with you today as you read this column this principle: There is hope even when “the bottom falls out” in your life when you rest in the truth that God is faithful, that He has always been faithful, and He always will be faithful.
This third chapter of the book of Lamentations is arguably the most familiar portion of the prophet Jeremiah’s letter. I want us to recognize two major thoughts from this passage before us. First, Jeremiah reflected upon his hurts in life (vv.1 – 20). It does not require a great deal of discernment to understand that Jeremiah was depressed because of the pain and anguish of heart that he was experiencing due to the downfall of his nation and the beloved city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. This pain within the soul of Jeremiah affected him in at least three ways.
One, we see the affliction and bitterness within his heart (vv.1 – 6). In v.1, Jeremiah expresses that he has personally witnessed God’s judgment being poured out on the nation of Judah, and in particular, upon his beloved city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. In v.2, the prophet declares that as a result of this judgment, God has led him to experience his own secret place of grief and sorrow, of misery and obscurity. The sense of affliction and bitterness weighed so heavily upon Jeremiah’s heart in that moment that he felt as if God’s own hand had “turned against me time and time again throughout the day.” God’s preacher clearly felt that the consequent suffering stemming from judgment brought upon his people seemingly had no end.
Verse four indicates the suffering and depression which Jeremiah was enduring had already had a profound physical affect on him. God’s judgment upon Judah had aged the prophet; he felt old, and completely worn out. He was also broken and crushed in his spirit. The purpose— the meaning— the substance of his very life seemingly was utterly shattered. As a prophet of the God who had brought this judgment upon Judah, Jeremiah surely must have felt within his heart, mind, and soul that he no longer had any value or purpose to anyone. This is the apparent meaning of vv.5 – 6. As you read these two verses, you can feel something of Jeremiah’s affliction and bitterness of heart. He was convinced that God had left him only with the bitterness of judgment, hardship, and weariness of soul. Verse six declares that Jeremiah felt like God had “put him in his own grave.” Even though he was still alive, Jeremiah felt like he was already a dead man— one whose heart was filled with affliction and bitterness.
Two, we can also recognize the anguish and burden of his heart (vv.7 – 12). Verse seven is stated with a historical reference to the Assyrian empire. Their soldiers would sometimes place a captive into a small, walled enclosure. This enclosure would be airtight, and so small that basically all the individual could do was stand in place. The captive would not be able to stretch his body, sit down, nor lie down. He would stand within that walled structure until he would literally suffocate in a slow and agonizing manner. The anguish and burden within the heart of Jeremiah was so severe— so grievously burdensome— he was convinced that he would never escape the pain brought upon his spirit by Jerusalem’s destruction. In v.8, the prophet states that the Lord would no longer even hear his prayers, saying, “He shuts out my prayers.” The anguish and burden within Jeremiah’s heart convinced him that God was no longer for him, but against him.
In vv.9 – 12, Jeremiah expresses that no matter what direction he turned toward to find relief from his afflictions and burdens— from the anguish and burden of his heart— God was there to thwart those efforts. He felt as if God Himself had unexpectedly ambushed him after faithfully seeking to serve Him and proclaim God’s messages of repentance, judgment, and future hope to the people of Judah. In v.12, God is compared to an expert archer who takes deliberate aim at a target and hits the “bull’s eye” every time. It was as if Jeremiah was shouting out of his anguish and burden, “God has me in His sights, and I cannot escape.”
Three, we can acknowledge, too, the agony and brokenness of his heart (vv.13 – 20). The “arrows of His quiver” (v.13) may refer to the people of Judah, who had made life so very difficult for Jeremiah. He was a laughingstock to the Jewish people. They cruelly ridiculed, derided, and mocked God’s prophet (v.14). Recall that Jeremiah was a man who had been… a) dishonored for his preaching (cf. Jeremiah 20:1 – 2); b) disheartened with his purpose (cf. Jeremiah 20:7 – 10); and c), distanced from his people (cf. Jeremiah 26:1 – 11). The weight of the agony and brokenness within the heart of this man was certainly one that was overwhelming to him. However, he ultimately laid the responsibility for the depression and pain that was consuming him upon the Lord.
Verses 15 – 20 appear to be Jeremiah’s absolute lowest point spiritually, emotionally, mentally. Note how extremely painful each phrase is in this portion of Lamentations 3. He writes that…
o v.15— his life was saturated with such severe personal circumstances that could no longer live under them. The bitterness of God’s judgment through the Babylonians had consumed and broken him with an unrelenting weariness within his soul that he could not escape, but also felt he could no longer bear.
o v.16— bitterness and brokenness accompany one another in a journey of the deepest pain and depression. He felt like a man with a mouth full of broken teeth and gravel. He was a man so broken in his spirit he felt like his life was absolutely worthless, that he had been “trampled down and rolled in the dust,” which is an Old Testament expression of grief and sorrow.
o v.17— to express two specific thoughts. The first one states, “Lord, You have forcefully pushed aside and cast off from me any sense of well-being, contentment, and divine favor with You.” The second one declares, “Lord, You have deprived me of Your goodness and pleasures I once knew in this life. I am utterly unable to remember anything that is good, beautiful, desirable, pleasant, or virtuous.”
o v.18— “My strength and my hope have perished from the LORD.” In my opinion, this is the ultimate expression of Jeremiah’s pain and weariness of soul. In essence, he states that the good influences of his life, the confident expectation of hope to which he once held, the sense of purpose and meaning his life may have once had, and even the faith he once had that he and his people would be delivered from God’s judgment had all been lost. The hurts Jeremiah had experienced within his life had convinced him that his life was now undone. He had lost all heart, courage, hope, purpose, and meaning in his life, because he felt that God Himself had taken those things away from him when He judged His people.
o vv.19 – 20— his life has been completely consumed by the affliction and bitterness, the anguish and burden, the agony and brokenness which had been manifested through God’s judgment upon Jerusalem and the people of Judah. Verse 19 seems to be a feeble plea to anyone who might read, or hear, what he has written to remember his depression and agony of soul. He was persuaded that he was an outcast not only from his own people, but was in that moment an outcast even from God Himself. Verse 20 concludes this segment of Jeremiah’s narrative with a declaration that he will never be able to forget— much less move forward from— the unending pain which had been thrust upon his life when God brought down judgment upon His people.
Whew!! What a depressing, painfully agonizing testimony from Jeremiah! When we read this portion of the story with this biblical understanding, how can we not feel brokenhearted ourselves for this man? How can we not feel some level of compassion for him? How can we not feel compelled to cry out to God on Jeremiah’s behalf to show him some measure of mercy to counter the hurt within his heart and life?
At this point in the story, it is abundantly clear that the bottom had fallen out in Jeremiah’s life. It seemed, too, that he had lost any and all valid reasons to continue to fight the good fight— to want to live— much less be the prophet of God. However, all hope was not lost, but rather, was about to be renewed according to v.21. There God’s prophet said, “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope.” Suddenly, Jeremiah was able to declare that despite the horrid circumstances of his life, he actually did have reason to hope in the Lord, to wait on the Lord, and to trust in the Lord. Let’s examine what Jeremiah remembered during the darkest and most difficult times of his life.
The second major thought of this narrative is this: Jeremiah rested in his hope in the Lord (vv.21 – 26, 31 – 32). His hopelessness turned into hope when he recalled God to be the God of remembrance (v.22a). The term, “mercies,” is the Hebrew word, “chesed,” which speaks of God’s covenant love. It depicts the Lord’s unwavering devotion, faithfulness, and steadfastness towards His people. Cf. Malachi 3:6 & Hebrews 13:5b. Beloved, you can rest in the Lord today as your portion for hope when the bottom falls out in this life— in the midst of your sorrows and grief, in the midst of life’s trials and troubles, in the midst of your despair and uncertainty— as you recall God’s steadfast covenant love. For His love is unchanging, unwavering, uncompromising, unfailing, and unending!
Jeremiah also remembered God to be the God of renewal (vv.22b – 23a). “Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;” indicates to us that God’s tender love and mercy towards us have no end. Those attributes will never cease, nor can they be exhausted or depleted. God’s expressions of compassion towards us can make all things new again within your heart, mind, and soul— no matter how great the hurts are in your life, and no matter how deep the pain and anguish within your heart may be. The God who renews our hope and strength can enable us to smile and laugh again in this life. Cf. Isaiah 40:31.
Then, too, Jeremiah could not help but to recall God to be the God of reliability (v.23b). Focus upon this well-known phrase, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” The word, “faithfulness,” depicts someone whose character is absolutely unchanging, faithful, and trustworthy— one who is stable, reliable, and steadfast— no matter what the circumstances of life may bring. Often, we do not— and perhaps cannot— recognize the faithfulness of God until “the bottom falls out” in our own lives. Because of His faithfulness, let us cry out today, “Oh, God, You are greater than all my troubles! Oh, God, Your love is greater than the darkness of my life! Oh, God, Your grace is greater than all my sin! Great is Thy faithfulness, oh, God!”
Finally, Jeremiah was able to rest in one final truth: that God is the God of redemption (vv.24 – 26, 31 – 32). If v.18 represents the absolute rock bottom of Jeremiah’s life and faith, then v.24 must serve as the pinnacle of his faith. The term, “portion” is used to refer to a believer’s acknowledgement of faith that his or her spiritual and eternal inheritance rests in God, is enjoyed with God, and comes only from God. And when this broken prophet cried out, “Therefore I hope in Him!,” he was literally declaring, “Yahweh is all I have!” This declaration reminds me of a statement the late Vance Havner made following the death of his wife: “When you discover that Jesus is all you have, it is then you discover that Jesus is all you need.”
Verses 25 – 26 and 31 – 32 are powerfully encouraging messages of truth to the brokenhearted. They clearly reveal that Jeremiah was once again persuaded within the depths of his soul that God was still the God of redemption— not only for a nation, but within his own life. So, allow me to encourage you to remember that when it seems all hope is gone, and despair and grief are all too real, God Himself is your portion for hope. No matter how heavy your load, He will carry you when “the bottom falls out” in your life! Cf. Psalm 55:22 & 1 Peter 5:7.
Remember, there is hope even when “the bottom falls out” in your life when you rest in the truth that God is faithful, that He has always been faithful, and He always will be faithful. “Hope for When the Bottom Falls Out.”
Anchored to His Faithfulness,
Pastor Allen