Finding Hope in the Midst of Adversity

Introduction

- Thank you guys for having me here today, it is such a blessing to be able to spend time with you in worship and in the word.

- If you have your bibles, turn with me to the book of Lamentations chapter 3.

- I am actually going through the book of Lamentations on my devotion time, and the Lord had really been ministering to me these passages in chapter 3, and I was praying through these passages and this message that God was putting on my heart.

- I will be teaching at a different ministry next week, and I was praying through this passage thinking this message was for this other congregation.

- But as soon as I got the call from Pastor Fish, the Lord spoke to me and said, no ; this message is for Realife Calvary Chapel. So, I trust that the Lord will meet us here this morning and will speak to us individually. I trust that the Lord will have a specific word for you and I today.

Transition

- See, this last year for my family and I has been an interesting season. There have been a lot of changes in this last year.

- My daughter who was singing with me graduated high school, my son entered Jr High School, my ministry roles changed, and the Lord called us out of the Church that we had been serving at for several years.

- All of a sudden, we were left with a lot of unknowns. What classes is my daughter taking, what career path should she go, what direction is my son going, what direction is the Lord leading us as a family… what direction am I to take in the ministry?

- And I can tell you, this last year has been a tough season in the wilderness. A season where we have not had clear direction from the Lord, other than to step out in faith.

- And I don’t know if you have ever been at that crossroad in your life, when the Lord asks you to take a step of faith. As I look back now, the step of faith was the easy part….. but navigating through the unknowns, through the questions, pushing through the difficulties and hardships that the new season bring, can be extremely harder.

- And in those wilderness seasons, there is a danger of losing perspective and losing Hope.

Transition

- I’m sure we can all relate to a season in our life where the situation, the problems, the hardships have caused us to lose perspective, have caused us to lose some sense of hope.

- This is exactly what we are going to look at today in the book of Lamentations.

- I’ve titled this message, “Finding Hope in the midst of Adversity”.

- In order to get a good understanding of this passage, we need to understand the context of this book.

Historical

- The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

- the city of Jerusalem and the temple have been burned and destroyed. Thousands of people have been taken captive to Babylon just like Jeremiah had prophecied in the book of Jeremiah. You see this take place in 2 Chronicles 36 and Jeremiah 39.

- throughout this season of God’s judgment on Israel because of their rebellion, there was great affliction, the people were taken as slaves, chapter 2 of Lamentations tells us of infants crying in the streets because of no food, it was a devastating time.

- If you remember, God had sent the prophets to warn his people of their rebellion and their idolatry. There rebellion would lead to great consequences, the people would be taken into captivity for 70 years. The great affliction and distress that has come upon the people has been because of their own choices. Judgement has now come.

- And what you have is Jeremiah, seeing the devastation that has come to the people and to the land because of the rebellion of the people, and you see the broken heart of Jeremiah as he writes Lamentations.

- The book of Lamentations is a book written in a poetic form. In other words, there are 5 poems that make up this book. And throughout these poems, you will see Jeremiah describes both the devastation, the hardships, the sins of the people, and hope in God for a future.

Transition

- And so what we want to do today, is to look at a portion of chapter 3. This is considered the climax of this song if you will.

- And I want us to focus on the humanity of Jeremiah. In chapters 1-2 he describes the affliction and hardships that the nation went through, but in Chapter 3, he makes it personal. He talks about his feelings, the things that he is going through.

- We get to see the reality of even this man of God, finding it difficult to understand and to deal with the hard situations in his life.

- And I pray that you and I would be encouraged today as we look at Jeremiah struggle through his feelings and his season of life.

Read

I. The Distress of Jeremiah (v.1-17)

- Here you being to see Jeremiah describe the things that he has gone through.

God Allows the Wilderness of Hardship

- In v. 1 it is Important to take note of what he says. He points out that he has gone through afflictions, by the rod of His wrath.

- In other words, there is an understanding that God has brought both Jeremiah and the people through this wilderness season of affliction. It is God who has allowed these things to happen in their lives.

Reason of the Wilderness Season

- Now we need to understand something else. That we will all go through wilderness seasons at different times, sometimes it will be as a rod of correction because we have rebelled against God as with the Nation of Israel, other times it is because God is longing to produce something in us that only the wilderness can produce, as with Jeremiah.

- We understand that rebellion against God has consequences. But we also see time and time again in the bible, how God use the wilderness experience as a means of preparing His people.

- I am reminded of Moses in the wilderness before he leads his people of out of Egypt, of Joseph sold and put into in prison before He becomes second in command in Egypt, of David hiding in the caves before he becomes King of Israel, of Paul in the Arabian desert before he becomes the most influential Apostle.

- The affliction in the wilderness season was meant to produce something, either correction, or spiritual maturity.

Charles Spurgeon said this about hardships

“I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages”

the hardships are meant to cause us to lean into the Lord.

- It is interesting, because Jeremiah was a faithful man. He was faithful to his calling to warn the nation, even in the midst of being ridiculed, beaten and put in prison. He did not waiver from his calling and from the Lord, and still, we just read his perspective on things.

- He gives us a number of things that he is feeling and things that he has gone through as an innocent man.

Things Jeremiah has gone through.

The physical things he went through

- He has had broken bones v.4

- His skin and flesh has aged v.4

- He had been torn in pieces v.10,11

- He has been pierced by the arrows v. 13 – not sure if this is physical or using it as an illustration

The emotion things he went through

- He walked in darkness v. 2,6

- He felt like God turned against him v.3

- He is surrounded by his bitterness v.5,15

- He feels trapped v.7

- He feels like God doesn’t listen to his prayers v.8

- He feels like God has put obstacles in his way v.9

- He feels like God is punishing him v.12

- He has no peace v. 17

- That is a real look at a man being honest before God. He is telling us exactly what he is feeling. Have you ever been in a place like this?

- Gone through situations in life where you have had to deal with physical afflictions of an illness, or an emotion rollercoaster, where you feel like you are walking in the dark, don’t know where you are going.

- Where it feels like everyone has turned against you, where bitterness wells up in your heart towards people, where you feel trapped, where you feel like God isn’t listening to your prayers, where you feel like you have no peace?

- The reality is that hardships and difficulties are not easy to go through. And it really doesn’t matter if you are in this place because you have rebelled against God or because God is working in you….. the wilderness is a hard place to be.

- And in these seasons, day after day of the pain, of the suffering, of the afflictions, of the unknown …… can cause a person to experience grief and hopelessness.

II. The Hopelessness of Jeremiah (v.18-20)

A. Jeremiah loses Spiritual vitality (v. 18)

- Jeremiah tells us plainly. He has lost his strength, and he has lost his hope., they have perished.

- That word “strength” speaks of “enduring of life”. In other words, he feels like he cannot endure the affliction any longer.

- he has lost “hope”, which speaks of “a desire of something good, accompanied with the expectation of obtaining it. a belief that it is obtainable. Confidence in future events.

- he had lost the expectation of something good happening. He does not have confidence in the future.

- this is a man who at this moment, has lost his perspective. It was not that long ago that he was faithfully prophecying about future events with confidence in the one speaking to him.

- and now, he has lost sight of that same God who was speaking to him. The circumstances and hardships have overwhelmed him so much, that they have consumed his view.

Transition

- I dare to say, that this can be us as well. One moment we are confident in the God who called us to take those steps of faith, the God who has met our every need, the God who has blessed us and protected us, the God who has directed our lives……

- And the next moment we are falling apart by the hardships of our seasons.

- We lose sight at the reality that God is with us and in the midst of our situation. We lose sight that God is the one who will sustain us through the difficulties.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NKJV

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

B. What Caused His Hopelessness? (v.19-20)

- here we see Jeremiah tell us why he has lost hope.

1. Because of the affliction (v.19, 1-17)

- the physical and emotional afflictions that we looked at in the first 17 verses have been difficult for Jeremiah endure. As we mentioned, the losing of strength spoke about losing the endurance to go through it.

- the is a threshold of heartbreak and affliction that would cause Jeremiah to throw in the towel……. He felt like he was coming to that threshold.

- you find this to be true in our society today among many of our youth. Where the physical or emotion afflictions become too much for them to endure. The heartbreak seems to cross this threshold where all hope is lost and all ability to endure is lost…. And you see many of youth turn to suicide.

2. Because of the Roaming (v.19)

- Jeremiah speaks of “roaming” being a cause of this hopelessness.

- that words “roaming” speaks of “being restless”, wandering, straying, being a refugee.

- In other words, it was the feeling of not belonging, of not having a home. Remember the Kingdom of Judah did not listen to Jeremiah’s message. He was not welcome among his people for his message of warning and judgement.

- Then you had the City of Jerusalem get destroyed and burned. The majority of the people in the Kingdom of Judah were taken captive. There were only a small number of people left, the remnant. It was as if they had no home, they did not belong.

- This uncertainty, lack of security, created a sense of hopelessness in Jeremiah.

- I’ve personally have been in places like this, where it feels like you are walking in the dark all by yourself, like you are alone. We can often forget that the God who created us, is with always with us. We are not alone.

Psalm 139:7–10 NKJV

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

3. Because of the wormwood and gall (v.19-20)

- Jeremiah also tells us that Wormwood and Gall caused his hopelessness.

- Wormwood is a non- poisonous plant that grows commonly in the middle east. Because of its bitter taste, wormwood in the bible is an analogy for bitterness, punishment and sorrow.

- Gall most often refers to a bitter tasting substance made of a plant such as wormwood.

- In other words, it was the bitterness and sorrow that caused Jeremiah to lose hope.

- If you have ever been hurt by an individual, back stabbed, pushed out by an organization, etc…… the frustration, injustice, anger, can slowly turn into bitterness towards that individual or organization, if it is not deal with.

- Once a person has bitterness rooted in their heart towards someone, it is very difficult, almost impossible, to have any hope in them.

- You get this sense of bitterness and sorrow surrounding Jeremiah. In verse 5 & 15 he tells us that he is surrounded by bitterness. Weather it was he who was harboring bitterness towards God, or if it was the people who were filled with bitterness…… we see that the bitterness had an affect on Jeremiah.

- Bitterness has a way of growing in our heats and will affect our relationship with others but most importantly with God.

Jesus told us.

Matthew 5:23–24 NKJV

Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Hebrews 12:14–15 NKJV

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

- As we keep moving, we see that Jeremiah lost strength and hope because of the afflictions he was going through, because of the roaming, or lack of security, having no home, because of bitterness.

- These are the same things that can affect our spiritual lives as well. These are the very things that can cause us to lose our perspective, that God is with us and working in us in our wilderness season……

- But the neat thing is that while we get to see Jeremiah wrestle through these things, we get to see him once again find hope in the midst of adversity.

- So, we want to be able to look at how he was able to find hope again because we may find ourselves in the very same place Jeremiahs was in today and if not today maybe tomorrow. in a place feeling Restless, feeling hopeless, tired, disappointed, wanting to quit…….

III. The Hope Regained by Jeremiah (v.21-24)

What Caused Jeremiah to regain his Hope?

Read v.21

- v.21 tells us an important thing. Jeremiah recalled to mind some important things that brought hope again. Remembering all that God had done for him was key to rising above his current situations.

- This is always key for our lives. Remembering what God has done in our lives will lead to focusing on the Lord rather than focusing on our problems, it will lead to a heart of gratitude, which leads to joy and peace. It leads to having the proper perspective.

- And we see here that he remembers God’s provision

Read v. 22-24

A. Remembering God’s Provision (v.22-23)

God’s provision is first seen in His mercy

1. By Remembering God’s Mercy (v.22-23)

- and God’s Mercy is described in a number of ways here.

a. God’s mercy is great towards us (v.22)

- Jeremiah tells us that through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed.

- Mercy- speaks of not getting what we deserve. In other words, If I was driving 100 miles an hour on the freeway this morning to church and I got pulled over by a police officer, I deserve to get a ticket. I broke the law, and in turn, I deserve the consequences of the ticket.

- now lets say the officer was in a good mood and decided to let me go with a warning, that officer would be extending his mercy on me. He didn’t give me what I deserved.

- this is the picture that we see here. The nation of Israel as a whole deserved God’s judgement because of their rebellion and idolatry. Yet God gave the people many years of warning and an opportunity to repent. And even now, while judgement had come and the majority of the people had been taken into captivity, there were still a small remnant that were spared by the Lord. His mercy was on display, even while the people rebelled against Him.

- This Mercy that God showed would be a shadow of things to come. Of the Mercy that would be extended to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Though we deserved death because of our sins, HE took upon Himself our sins on the cross. He took the penalty of sin, and not only did we receive Mercy but we have been saved by His grace.

-

b. God’s mercy does not fail (v.22)

- in your bibles it might say “compassions”, it is the same word as mercies. Jeremiah is remembering that God’s mercy does not fail.

- even in the midst of the great affliction, there was evidence of God’s mercy. While the system and people may fail, God and His mercy would never fail.

Psalm 103:17 NKJV

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children,

c. God’s mercy are new every morning (v.23)

- Have you ever thought about this? We are sinners. Every day of the week, you and I go around making poor decisions. We say things we shouldn’t, we do things we shouldn’t, and each night you go to sleep, you wake up to a brand new morning.

- A new day where God has shown mercy to us. We should have perished for our sins, yet every new morning we are alive, is a reminder of God’s mercy on us.

- A new day to live for God, to love God, to love our families, to share the love of God etc…. each new day is a blessing and a reminder that God isn’t finished with you yet. I love that.

- No matter how bad the past day was, God’s people can look to the new morning with faith and hope.

- Not only did Jeremiah remember God’s mercy but also God’s faithfulness.

2. By Remembering God’s Faithfulness (v.23)

- This is the heart of the book of Lamentations. The comforting, compassionate character of God dominates the wreckage of every situation, season, people or organization.

- While we fail, while people will fail us, God will never fail us. God’s character is perfect and true and He cannot be anything other than what He is.

- He is steadfast in His love for us, He is steadfast in His Mercy towards us, He is steadfast in His protection over us, He is steadfast in His leading us, He is steadfast in His forgiveness, He is steadfast in His purpose for us. EX. 34:6-7

Exodus 34:6–7 NKJV

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

3. By Remembered God’s is His portion (v.24)

- This expression has in mind Ex. 18:20, where Aaron was denied an inheritance in the promise land but was told instead that the Lord Himself was his portion.

- Think back as what caused his hopelessness, it was his “roaming”, his lack of security, lack of stability, he was a refugee. That was a heart that was not satisfied in his current place and was looking for a place to bring that satisfaction.

- But here we see Jeremiah remember that God is his portion. Taking from the passage of Aaron, a physical land, a physical place would never bring satisfaction, but true satisfaction would come from his relationship with the Lord.

- Whatever measure he was to receive, whatever inheritance, whatever future, he would find satisfaction in the Lord.

- Can you and I say that today? Would will be able to find satisfaction in our relationship with God today regardless of what our lives may look like, regardless of what we have or what we don’t have? Can we say “God is my portion?”

- Now Jeremiah found hope in the midst of adversity by Remembering God’s provisions, His mercy, His faithfulness, his portion…. These were all the things that God had done for him….. but I want us to notice as well the practical things we are to do.

- It is not enough to just remember what God has done, but there is a responsibility for us to respond to what He has done.

B. Returning to God’s presence (v.25-29)

- what we see here is that Hope comes by waiting on the Lord.

- the word “wait” here in verse 25 speaks about an active waiting. To seek hope, to look eagerly. It also speaks about, to collect, or to bind together, perhaps by twisting.

- The waiting it is speaking about is not simply doing nothing and waiting for God to do everything, but to bind ourselves to the Lord.

- To twist ourselves to the Lord as a rope is twisted together. The only way that will take place, is if we are spending quiet time alone with the Lord. We have to actively pursue this alone time with God in His word, in prayer, in worship.

- The world that we live in is full of so much noise. Between the business of work, school, social media, etc.. The world around us is constantly trying to fill your heart and mind with ideas, agendas, influences etc….

- And these things will fight for our time and affection for the Lord. We have to make an honest effort to quiet the noise and spend time with God. It is in this alone time, that we will get our focus away from the problems and back on God.

- It is where we will rise above us trying to fix our problems and situations and learn to rely on God to sustain us. It is in his presence where we can lay our burdens and cares before Him.

Conclusion

- I’ll close this out by looking briefly at PS. 106

- In this Ps. The writer recalls the story of the Nation of Israel being delivered from Egypt, and he recalls the rebellion in the wilderness.

- In verse 1-12, it describes God’s goodness and His deliverance of the people from bondage. Then we see this….

Psalm 106:13–15 NKJV

They soon forgot His works; They did not wait for His counsel, But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.

- We see quickly what happened to the people. They found themselves in the wilderness, a journey that should have taken 11 days, turned into a 40-year journey because of their rebellious actions.

- We are told that they…..

1. Forgot His works

2. Did not wait for His counsel

3. Lusted exceedingly

4. Tested God

- These very actions are what caused them to wander in the wilderness a lot longer than what God had intended.

- The time in the wilderness was meant to draw near to the Lord and to learn to relay on Him and His provision.

- But it soon became a time of purification and judgement.

- V. 15 tells us that “God gave them their request”. But he sent leanness into their soul.

Application

- Interesting that these very things that these people did, forget God and did not wait on Him, caused them to drift from God, lose hope and wander longer. These were the very things that Jeremiah did that caused him to regain hope, he remembered and waited on the Lord.

- There is no doubt that we will find ourselves in the wilderness at some point of our lives. God will bring us to this season not to harm us, but to draw us closer to Him.

- There are things that God is trying to develop in us that only the wilderness can produce.

- But, so often in the wilderness season, we miss what God is tying to do in us….. We soon take our eyes off of Him and focus on the situations, the problems and the unknowns.

- And we can start to lose hope, we forget all that God has done for us, and we can begin to test God by our actions.

- This will lead to longer seasons in the wilderness either physically or spiritually. It will cause hopelessness in our lives, it will cause a leanness in our soul.