Themes from Lamentations

The book of Lamentations describes the results of Babylon's destruction of Jerusalem (c. 587 B.C.). It is composed of five interconnected poems which describe a shift from horrible loss and personal shame to restored hope and prayer for God's renewing power.

The central passage in this book is 3:19-26.

Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall. My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. 

This passage affirms that belief in God's mercy and faithfulness is the key to a restored relationship with God. This is true even for those who deserve (and have perhaps already received) God's judgment. Hope is the byword in Lamentations.

Lamentations seems to have been written to be prayed aloud or sung in worship services in a spirit of repentance, asking God's forgiveness, and seeking restoration with Him.

Sadly, Lamentations is an often-neglected book. It presents several key concepts in a creative way during an important time in Israel's history.

These concepts are still applicable today. They include, but are not limited to:


1. It offers beautiful prayers that confess sin, express renewed hope, and declare total dependence on God's grace.

2. It is the only book of the Bible written by someone who endured a manifestation of "the day of the LORD" (see Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18; Zephaniah 1:14-16). This "day" is the day God comes to judge sin. It can occur in historical contexts, such as the fall of Jerusalem, or it can occur at the end of time (the final "day of the LORD"). Regardless, such "days" do occur, and warnings in the Bible about such days need to be taken seriously.

3. The book's authorship, setting, contents, and theology underline its value for understanding the nature of pain, sin, and redemption.

4. It affirms that Jerusalem fell
      a. because of the people's sins (1:18)
      b. because they rejected God's word sent through the prophets (2:8; 14, 17)
      c. because their leaders led them astray (4:13)
      d. because they did not heed God's warning (2:17).

5. It affirms God's faithful, unending mercy. God is not finished with His people, even when they sin greatly.

6. It affirms that prayers of confession, repentance, and petition are the means for restoring a broken relationship with God. Their honest expressions of pain and their dismay over what God has allowed to happen coincide with the prayers found in the Psalms. They also share the Psalms' emphasis on God's sovereignty as King of creation (Psalm 103:19).

Do you have any thoughts or additional themes from Lamentations that you would like to add? Don't hesitate to leave a comment!

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Satan's Lies vs. God's Truth

When you are in the valley of depression and/or discouragement, your mind is weak and particularly prone to believe Satan's lies, and he knows this. Satan uses our times in the valley (when we're discourage or depressed) to ensnare us in the bondage of self-absorption. Self-absorption takes your focus off of God and His truth and onto yourself. That's why it is extremely important that you replace Satan's lies with God's truth as soon as they come to your mind. You need to remind yourself of the truths you have neglected in order to reaffirm them in your mind and heart to avoid this trap and experience victory. 

What better way to combat Satan's lies and remind yourself of God's truths than with Truth itself, the Word of God?

Below is a list of some of the most common lies Satan uses to try to ensnare us. I have paired each lie with at least one verse to help remind you of what God has to say about that particular lie. 


Satan's Lie: "No one cares, including God."
God's Truth: Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. {Jeremiah 31:3}

Satan's Lie: "I'm no good."
God's Truth: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. {2 Corinthians 5:17}

Satan's Lie: "I'm all alone." 

God's Truth: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. {Hebrews 15:3b}

Satan's Lie: "I don't need God."

God's Truth: I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. {John 15:5}

Satan's Lie: "This problem is beyond help."

God's Truth: Is any thing too hard for the LORD? {Genesis 18:14}

Satan's Lie: "Nothing will ever change."

God's Truth: ...to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. {Isaiah 61:3}

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. {Psalm 30:5b}

Satan's Lie: "I should be afraid of the unknown."

God's Truth: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. {Jeremiah 29:11}

Satan's Lie: "These feelings of hopelessness will never change."

God's Truth: Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: {Psalm 42:5, 11}

The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. {Lamentations 3:24}

Satan's Lie: "I hate people."

God's Truth: If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. {I John 4:20-21}

Satan's Lie: "God is angry with me."

God's Truth: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy ... For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. {Psalm 103:8, 14}

Satan's Lie: "No one understands me."

God's Truth: Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. {Psalm 147:5}

Satan's Lie: "I hate life."

God's Truth: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. {John 14:6}

Do you have any additional lies and/or truths to add to this list? Feel free to leave a comment below.

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Remember...

Edited by Myrna Moore

But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not willingly grieve the children of men. 

{Lamentations 3:32-33}

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Hoping in God

Life is hard. A loved one dies unexpectedly. A friendship turns sour. A job opportunity falls through. Finances are tighter than expected. It is easy (and normal) for difficult circumstances like these to cause us to lose hope in God, His plans, and His promises. When the future looks bleak, how are we to keep hope alive when life hurts?

A dear friend shared Psalm 42 with me during a very difficult time in my life when my hope in God was failing. In this passage, David records how he dealt with the same feeling of hopelessness. I would like to share it with you.

Psalm 42

{As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, o God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?} David uses the picture of a thirsty deer longing for water to illustrate how his soul was yearning for fellowship with God.

{My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, where is thy God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.} Tears are a natural response to adversity and difficult circumstances. David is baffled to the point of emotional distress at why he is experiencing the difficulties he is relating in this passage; he is also distraught at the cruel taunting of those asking him "where is your God now, David?"

{Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.} David gives himself a bit of a spiritual pep talk in this verse. He reminds himself that God is worth putting his hope in, and he exhorts himself to praise God through the adversity and difficulty, even though he doesn't understand.

{O my God, my soul is cast down within me...Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows have gone over me.} David continues to express his normal feelings of distress and hopelessness.

{Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.} David reminds himself again of God's changeless, loving care for him as His child.

{I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God} Once again, David releases a natural, human response to adverse circumstances while his enemies continue to taunt him.

{Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.} David closes this psalm with the same spiritual pep talk found earlier in the passage.

Life is hard; life hurts, but God is bigger than any circumstance we will ever face. Keep your hope firmly rooted in Him. His light breaks the darkness of hopelessness.

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