New Beginnings

Introduction

So this past weekend, Majors Harvey, Captain Landeros, my wife and I all went in different directions across the division to install officers into new appointments. One of the things that I said at the onset of the installations in Boise was that the previous week was likely a hard one for the congregation. After all, saying goodbye to people that you love is hard, especially to people who have walked beside you in the most difficult and vulnerable moments of your lives. It’s hard to say goodbye to people you love, and beyond that, some people just don’t cope well with change. These moments can be very difficult. And human beings are a tricky bunch. We tend to stay in despair longer than we stand in hope. Despair lingers for awhile. You can trust me on that. I am a Chicago White Sox fan, so I know a thing or two about despair!

I’m trying to be funny, but the reality is that we really do tend to exist in despair moreso than hope, so when Major Jonathan asked me to offer today’s devotional thought and told me that the theme for this service is New Beginnings, I had to take us to Lamentations this morning.

Not many people are able to boast that they have done a detailed study in Lamentations, and, if I am honest, neither have I until preparing for today’s devotional. If we were to survey the entire bible, none of us would likely conclude with exclamations that “Lamentations is FIRE, baby. That was real soul food”! If you’re looking for an emotional boost, the five chapters found in Lamentations probably aren’t going to be in your top five “go to’s”. Yet, here we are.

Context

So, to offer a little context, Lamentations immediately follows the book of Jeremiah. You may recall that Jeremiah is known as “the weeping prophet”, a moniker that arises from Jeremiah 9:1 where the prophet proclaims that he “would weep day and night for the slain of his people”. Don’t judge him too harshly though for his downcast spirit. This man of God existed during a very difficult time in Israel’s history. In fact, we find him in Lamentations in absolute grief over the state of Jerusalem following its destruction by the Babylonians. The people had rebelled against God refusing to repent and correct their relationship. Therefore, God gave them over to their enemy which really only means that He removed His protective presence. In short He gave them what their rebellion demanded; His absence.

We won’t read the chapter in its entirety, just trust me when I tell you that it truly is a lament. Preachers look for what we call “literary techniques” in biblical writings because that knowledge is helpful in unpacking scripture to understand it a little more clearly. To help you understand the depth of sorrow in Lamentations, I will simply share that some scholars state that the author of Lamentations selected the external style of writing referred to as acrostic poetry to correspond it to the internal spirit of the work so it’s reader might experience an emotional catharsis. In short, its a real downer!

The Message

So right now, the DC is thinking, my goodness man, why on earth did you choose this for today. Major Harvey, that’s a great question that I am happy to offer an answer.

Officer moves are emotional for most everyone. Officers are uprooting their families, congregations are losing their shepherds, even those of us at DHQ are losing colleagues that we have grown to love. New folks are coming in with possible feelings of anxiety, and are navigating how to comfort their children who just said goodbye to their friends, teachers, little league coaches. Some of the DHQ staff is likely frustrated because they feel as if they just got people bought into a specific system and now they have to do the work all over again. These moments, no matter how exciting, are also emotional! They might, for some, even if only displayed in private, cause some sense of lament. So, we find ourselves looking to Jeremiah this morning because within this gut-wrenching account of cathartic emotion lies an important statement uttered in the midst of his expressed grief where he says in chapter 3, verses 21-23, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore 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 His faithfulness”.

In his great grief and frustration, Jeremiah is reminded that God’s mercies are new each morning, and that He is faithful to offer them. There is another verse that God has had on my mind for several weeks now, and it comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13, and I like the New Living Translation best which reads, “Three things will last forever - faith, hope and love”. Now, we often go on to conclude the verse by saying “and the greatest of these is love”, and we do so rightly as it is scriptural.

Conclusion

But for the purpose of today’s devotional, I just want to highlight that faith, hope and love all three are presented as everlasting. Not fear nor dread. Not anger or frustration. Not grief and mourning. You see, God does not intend for us to hold on to those. They are supposed to be momentary; temporary feelings if you will. Only faith, hope and love are meant to persist. So, if today really offers “New Beginnings”, then let go of the feelings and emotions that are not meant to be carried on, and grab hold to the faith, the hope, and the love that is meant to walk with us, even into eternity. Be reminded as Jeremiah was that even in the hardest moments of life, God’s great mercy will never leave us in our grief. That same prophet offered another assurance in Jeremiah 29:11 that we should be mindful of, that God knows the plans that he has for us, and that those plans are to prosper us, never to harm us, to give us hope and a future. So be of good cheer friends, for despair is fleeting, hope is eternal, and God has a plan!

To our new friends, welcome! You are already loved!