Lam 3:31-33 Devotional

Why read the old Testament?

I debated on weather or not we should go to luke 9 or lamentations 3 today.

While it is easy to go to the pauline epistles or the Gospels, we should want to read and know the whole counsel of God.

The old Testament teaches us many things, including how we are to think about God. Sometimes what we can learn from the Old Testament can be hard to understand, but what we can learn can be rich truth for us, or attributes of who God is that help us understand how we are to think about God.

Last Saturday working at that lady’s house on harrison, we found an old newspaper being used as insulation in someones house. So I took it home and Erika and I poured over it reading every page looking for articles that were really neat. And we found some. Some about post WW2 news. News about North Korea invading South Korea. News about the first Colorado Avalanche team. News about other things that were intriguing to us. And not completely, but i think this is sometimes how we read the old testament. Its very difficult to relate certain passages to our lives, or to see how it is relevent, but there are nuggets of truth that teach us, challenge us, help us to think.

Read

Background

Written by Jeremiah

About the destruction of Jerusalem

One of the most painful books in the Bible, Job would be a close tie.

Although it is painful, It is written with such incredible structure.

We are unable to get his in English, but each chapter is a lengthy acrostic.

I believe this points us to the fact that suffering and trials we are put through are orchestrated by God with purpose.

Think about a flood coming into a great plain. Maybe there is a town in the plain. Rather than allowing the flood to sweep through the town, we could create boundaries to channel the river. The river will still roar and make create some destruction, but it is channeled for a purpose, and can be used for good.

God will Not Cast us off forever

In the moment of trials in our lives that we go though, they sometimes seem like they will seem like they will never end. Maybe for some of us this is true in this life. Maybe there will be sufferings through our whole life. Think of those with a disability. But it is good for us to remember, that God does not cast us off forever. We are his children and he wants good for us. We look forward to the day when we no longer suffer and we see God face to face.

God is the cause of grief

Sometimes we want to rob God of his sovereignty and say that he just allows for suffering in human life. This is why it is so important for us to go to the Old Testament. We need to learn about God. God is the Cause of suffering.

In this context he caused the Babylonians to ransack and do terrible things to the people of Jerusalem.

In our lives, God does not allow for sufferings in our lives, rather he is the cause.

This may seem discouraging, but when we think about it, it is actually encouraging. To know that God is sovereign and in full control to what is happening in our lives. The sufferings that we go through are not in vain or meaningless, but rather God is using them for a purpose.

We know that while God causes grief he is compassionate to us. And he does these things in our life because of his kindness and mercy. He does these things for our good.

God does not take pleasure in causing us grief

When we are in the midst of trials in our lives, we must remember that God does not take pleasure in causing us grief. God is not some uncompassionate ruler sitting in heaven with lightening bolts ready to strike anyone who messes up. Rather he is a merciful God who does not delight in our affliction. Rather he does these things for our good. It is not his motivation to make us suffer, but rather to make us better. God is the one directing the river of suffering to accomplish his good purposes in our lives. To chasten us and bring us back to him. To sanctify us and bring us closer to him.

Concluding thoughts

Maybe some of us are in a trial right now? Maybe we aren’t. We have heard it said that you are either in a trial, coming out of a trial, or about to go into a trial. Next time we go through suffering in our life, let us remember these three key thoughts from Lamentations.

First, that God will not reject us forever. Sufferings we go through are temporary.

Second, we are to bow down to God’s sovereignty and remember that he is the cause of our suffering.

Third, that God does not take pleasure in our grief.