One can easily recognize the feeling of grief, but we often skip the season of processing it. Reality bites us that grieving is not our usual “comforting, feel good” quiet time with the Lord. It means sitting in silence with God as we deal with the unsettling emotions of bitterness, hurt, and sorrow.
And on most days, it requires us to look back on the events, people, and reasons that caused us pain — the very things we try to run from constantly.
Sorrow in Jerusalem
Jeremiah certainly shared the same experience back then when he saw Jerusalem in ruins as a result of God’s wrath over mankind’s sin. In Lamentations 1 and 2, he vividly narrates how he found the city after the invasion, which left people suffering from hunger, oppression, and even death. He walked through streets that reek of anguish. He endured every sight of brokenness, from babies to elders, that he cannot help but feel this way: “And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.” (Lamentations 3:8).
Naming our Pain
These very lines picture how Jeremiah had to confront the feeling of grief and he teaches us how to “not” run away from it. Amidst all his affliction, Jeremiah named his pain… one by one and in detail. He did not suppress how he felt, no matter how it pierced his soul; and chose to remember it instead.
Being vulnerable before the Lord humbles us. It is when we kneel on our knees and utter the most honest and raw prayers that we understand His holiness and sovereignty on a personal level. And the nerve-wracking news is, He does not condemn or cast us out at our lowest point. Instead, He transforms it to His highest point of supremacy.
Remnant of Hope
For the first time in the book of Lamentations, verses 21–23 speak of hope. While recalling his pain, Jeremiah remembered how the love and mercy of God leave a remnant — a trace of light and healing.
He reminds us that where sin is great, grace abounds more… because where God leaves life, He leaves hope.
How comforting it is that we have a God who is patient with us in the process of grieving. Someone who is willing to walk with us when we feel left behind by the world. Someone who is willing to carry us through when we can no longer bear the weight on our backs.
Jesus, the Ultimate Grief-Bearer
If you ever feel paralyzed by grief, know that the God you have is the ultimate grief bearer. He is with you on mountaintops, and He will certainly make Himself known to you in the valleys. Do not lose heart, knowing that He forgives and redeems. Take it one step at a time, resting upon the assurance that God goes before you and behind you.
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Kyla Marie Lucas