God's Faithfulness/Doing Battle With Grief
Preaching
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long.
He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.
Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help. He drew his bow and made me the target of his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all the day long. He has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall.
He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped for from the Lord."
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Reading this passage at length is worth it because of the way it builds up misery and sorrow, and then, astonishingly turns to praise. Just when Jeremiah has you saying, "Yes, the Lord has come against me. Yes, God has been unjust to me and mine." Just then, as we are about to wash our hands of God, Jeremiah surprises us by saying that in the midst of this sense of abandonment he will call to mind God's goodness. Whoa! He will turn his attention from the misery and pain and grief to the Lord's love and compassion. And he will patiently wait for the Lord's goodness to fall anew on him.
When you are preaching at a service where some present will be feeling that God has been unjust to them; that life is unfair; that they have been cheated, reading this passage can be a slap in the face. Sometimes that is what is needed. Darn right, life is unfair at times. Absolutely there are times when we feel as if God has turned away from us. Jeremiah felt it. The psalmists felt it. It is okay for us to feel it, but we ought not to wallow in it. This passage encourages us, even in the worst times of life, to be honest about our pain and our feelings against the Lord, but not to get stuck in that place.
He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.
He has walled me in so I cannot escape; he has weighed me down with chains. Even when I call out or cry for help, he shuts out my prayer. He has barred my way with blocks of stone; he has made my paths crooked.
Like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in hiding, he dragged me from the path and mangled me and left me without help. He drew his bow and made me the target of his arrows.
He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all the day long. He has filled me with bitter herbs and sated me with gall.
He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, "My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped for from the Lord."
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Reading this passage at length is worth it because of the way it builds up misery and sorrow, and then, astonishingly turns to praise. Just when Jeremiah has you saying, "Yes, the Lord has come against me. Yes, God has been unjust to me and mine." Just then, as we are about to wash our hands of God, Jeremiah surprises us by saying that in the midst of this sense of abandonment he will call to mind God's goodness. Whoa! He will turn his attention from the misery and pain and grief to the Lord's love and compassion. And he will patiently wait for the Lord's goodness to fall anew on him.
When you are preaching at a service where some present will be feeling that God has been unjust to them; that life is unfair; that they have been cheated, reading this passage can be a slap in the face. Sometimes that is what is needed. Darn right, life is unfair at times. Absolutely there are times when we feel as if God has turned away from us. Jeremiah felt it. The psalmists felt it. It is okay for us to feel it, but we ought not to wallow in it. This passage encourages us, even in the worst times of life, to be honest about our pain and our feelings against the Lord, but not to get stuck in that place.
