Sermon – Lamentations 3:22-23 – Hope for the Hopeless

Lamentations 3

I don’t know if you have all noticed recently, but I am sure that it has been quite apparent that I have had a different demeanor over the past few months.  After I was told that I would be losing my job last November, I have gone from one trial to another.  My life has completely turned upside down.  And although I have started a new job at a major pharmaceutical company like Amgen, a situation that many people could only dream of, my life has gotten worse.  I have lost enjoyment of my work, feeling like I am always on the edge of being scolded or fired.  I have lost the very few friends that I had and hoped to have for the rest of my life, due to careless words said in anger.  I have lost the close-knit relationship I had with my parents, because they can see me hurting and don’t know what to do.  And most importantly, I have lost the most important human relationship I have had for the past ten years, losing both my love and my best friend.   

These hardships have pushed me to the edge.  It has made me question my worth as a human being.  It has made me question my faith in a loving God.  It has made me question whether life is even worth all this trouble.  And on top of all that, I can’t even blame God, because I know that all these hardships came from my disobedience.  My unwillingness to listen to His calling me to move to San Francisco.  Because of my disobedience, I am now suffering in emotional, mental, and spiritual pain, and I don’t feel like there is hope in sight.  So I can honestly tell you that I now know what depression feels like; I know what it feels like to be hopeless; I know what it is like to feel buried under the weight of the consequences of bad choices and sin.  This was the condition the people of Israel were in when Lamentations was written.  This was the feeling that Jeremiah was experiencing when he wrote this book.   

For years, Israel had turned away from God and towards idolatry.  For years, they had rejected the pleas of the prophets to repent and to return to the Lord.  For years, they had ignored the warnings of God.  And finally, the punishment of their sins had come.  They were conquered by both the Assyrian and Babylonian empires.  Their homes were ransacked; their walls were demolished; their people taken into captivity; and the Temple was destroyed.  So, it was not surprising that Jeremiah, the prophet at that time, wrote Lamentations, a book of laments, in response to this ordeal.  This book was written to express the sorrow and pain he and the people of Israel were feeling because of their sins.  All five chapters of this short book share the agony and frustration that Israel and specifically Jeremiah was feeling during this time of hopelessness.  However, what might come as a surprise is that one of the greatest statements of faith and hope are found right in the middle of this book in Lamentations 3:22-23, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”   

Today, I would like to share with you the passage of hope that God is giving me during this time of sorrow and hardship in my life.  I won’t lie to any of you right now.  Part of me doesn’t believe it.  I know what it says.  I trust that God is true to His Word.  But my heart cannot believe it right now; not with the current state of my life; however, I think these words are fitting to bring hope to those who feel hopeless, even myself.   

As you can see in vs. 19-20, Jeremiah was in a state of constant hopelessness – “Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!  My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.”  His mind was fixed on the trials and hardships he was currently experiencing.  He couldn’t stop thinking about it.  It just kept coming back.  It is easy for people who aren’t in trouble to simply say, “Stop thinking about it, and it will all get better.”  However, those who have suffered, know that it cannot be done.  The debilitating thoughts of trouble do not simply just disappear because you will them to.  They fester and grow and bring you further down.  Now, it might sound like I am telling you to give up.  However, that isn’t the least bit true.  Rather, I want to share with you what Jeremiah did that helped him find hope in this time of hopelessness.  What he did to combat those discouraging thoughts was to think of something else, to bring something else to mind that would bring him hope.  And these are the thoughts that I want to share with you today.   

The first thing that he remembered was the character of God.   

Lamentations 3:22-23 – “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”   

During his times of hardship, Jeremiah needed to remember God’s character.  He needed to remember that God is a loving God, and not only does He love, but His love never ceases or ends.  It is steadfast and continues despite all trouble and hardship.  It doesn’t just leave when we are disobedient.  It doesn’t go away when we turn away from Him.  His love extends more and more despite our sinfulness.  It is unconditional.  Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  God’s love never fails.  And His love is displayed in His mercy – mercy that is new every morning, meaning it never runs out.  Regardless of how bad we might be, His mercy is still there.  He didn’t punish us as we deserve but gave us His Son, as a sacrifice for our sins.  He put the punishment on Himself rather than on us.  This is the love of God.  And that love is faithful even when we are faithless (2 Timothy 2:13).   

It is hard to believe in God’s loving character when we suffer, especially when it seems like we are suffering the punishment for our own sins.  However, we must remember that even the punishment that we are experiencing now is still merciful compared to what we truly deserve.  And God isn’t punishing us because He wants us in pain, but because He wants to bring us back to Him.  He does not afflict from his heart (Lam 3:33) but disciplines His children like a good father would do.  In our times of hopelessness, let us find hope in the good character of our Heavenly Father.  He’s a good, good Father.   

The second thing Jeremiah recalled was the promises of God. 

If God is faithful, the question we need to ask ourselves next is “What is He faithful about?”  He is faithful in keeping His promises.  In the next few verses of this lament, Jeremiah then recalled the various promises of God.  For example, vs. 25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.”  God will be good to those who wait on Him and His promises.  He will be pleasant to those who seek Him.  Matthew 7:7-8 says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you…”  Why?  Because if we as evil human beings know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Heavenly Father give good things to those that ask Him (Matthew 7:11)?  All we need to do is to wait for Him.  This word wait doesn’t mean to just sit around and do nothing, but “to look for,” “to hope,” “to expect.”  That is why He follows it up with “to the soul who seeks Him.”  If we continue to trust in God during our trouble, if we continue to hold onto Him, He is faithful and will do good for those who love Him.  Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”   

The beautiful thing is that Jeremiah didn’t stop on this promise alone, he went further with another one.  Lamentations 3:31 says, “For the Lord will not cast off forever…”  This means that even when He is disciplining us, He is looking to redeem.  We as human beings when we seek to punish someone usually seek revenge.  We want them to suffer just as much as we have.  We will continue to lay the guilt on them.  We will continue to ignore them.  We will continue to treat them with disdain, because we want those who hurt us to suffer.  However, God is not that way.  When He corrects, He looks to restore.  That is why we can remember that He will not cast off forever.  “For His anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime.  Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  (Psalm 30:5).  God wants to bring us back to Him.  That is why even when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, He was already preparing a way of salvation for us.   

And there are many other promises that aren’t listed here.  We have the promise of salvation in His Son (Romans 10:13).   We have the promise of forgiveness when we confess our sins (1 John 1:9).  We have the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).  And there are countless others about His provision, His care, and His love.  We can find hope in God’s promises to us.   

The third thing Jeremiah considered was that his situation was good for learning 

You may be wondering what I mean by that.  What was there to learn in all this trouble?  Well, there were a few things.   

First, Jeremiah saw that it was good for one to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord, for a man to bear the yoke in his youth (vs. 26-27).  He encouraged the young man to sit alone in silence when the yoke was laid on him, to put his mouth in the dust, and to give his cheek over to those who would strike and insult him.  Now, one may wonder why this is a good thing, and I would agree, it doesn’t seem like any good would come out of this.  However, when we experience trouble and hardship and patiently endure, we grow our faith in God and can see Him work.  The trials of our faith bring out something more precious than gold; it brings honor, praise, and glory to God (1 Peter 1:7).  Suffering produces endurance, endurance produce character, character produces hope, and hope doesn’t put us to shame, because God’s love is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:3-5).  It is hard to endure.  I won’t deny that; because, I must say that waiting right now is difficult.  But something good will come from it in the end.  And that good thing is a deeper trust in the Lord our God.   

Second, suffering (when it comes to discipline) is important to bring us to repentance.  Look at vs. 40-44, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: ‘We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.  You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us, killing without pity; you have wrapped yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through.’”  Sometimes, suffering is what is necessary for us to see our sin and to turn back to God.  That is why God has to discipline His children.  When there are no consequences for our sinful actions, we are likely to continue or to repeat them, because we won’t see anything wrong with it.  How many of you have only broken a bad habit after someone called you out on it and it caused a problem in your life?  Why do you think it takes a major incident for those struggling with drug and alcohol addiction to get help?  It is hard to see the problem, when there are no trials associated with them. However, when we are disciplined and suffer because of our sin, we open our eyes to the truth and return to the Lord.  When Paul rebuked the Corinthian church, it hurt; but he rejoiced, not because of the pain that was caused, but because the pain led them to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9).  It is the same with God.  Discipline teaches us repentance.   

In times of hopelessness, it is hard to see purpose.  It is hard to see a reason for the pain.  But let us find hope in knowing that God can use a hopeless situation to teach us something about ourselves and more importantly about Him.   

Jeremiah found hope in knowing that God is in control. 

When awful things happen to us, it is hard for us to believe that God is in control.  We look at the situation and wonder how God could allow such things to happen.  We see the trouble and wonder how come God didn’t stop it.  When we are feeling hopeless, it is easy to lose faith and to doubt God’s power and control over everything.  But Lamentations 3:37-39 reminds us, “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?  Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?”  Whether good things happen or bad things occur, God is in control.  He allows these things to come to pass.  He ultimately will always bring about His plan.  Whether it be tornados or hurricanes, earthquakes or fires, God is in control.  Whether it be storms in our lives brought about because of the sin of others or ourselves, God is in control.  God is all-knowing and also all-powerful enough to bring about His plan.  So if we truly believe that God loves His children and does what is best for them, then we can find hope that He is in control of the situation even when we feel we are hopelessly wandering.   

Jeremiah remembered that God listens 

It is during our times of hopelessness that we feel like we have no one who listens or hears us.  It is during these times that we cry out in pain, because it feels like no one is there, like no one understands.  But during these times, we should call out to God and remember that He listens to the prayers and pleas of His children.  Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:55-57, “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, ‘Do not close your ear to my cry for help!’  You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’”  When we pray to our Heavenly Father, we can be sure that He listens.  Even when we have sinned and fallen short, even when we have failed Him and brought destruction upon ourselves, if we are coming to Him with a heart of repentance, He hears us.  He hears our pleas regardless of how deep we have fallen.  And more than just that, He works.  Lamentations 3:58-59 states, “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.  You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge my cause.”  God didn’t only hear Jeremiah’s prayer but followed through with redemption and restoration.  We need not fear, for He is ready and willing to forgive and restore us to Himself.  His ears are open, so we can maintain the hope that He is listening and is working as we pray.   

Although Jeremiah was experiencing trouble beyond compare, although he and the people of Israel were suffering for their own sins, although he lived in a situation that seemed hopeless, Jeremiah was able to find hope in remembering these things about God and His ability to work in his life.  So when you feel hopeless, when you feel like you are alone, when negative thoughts and emotions keep creeping into your heart, try to think and to remember these things so that you can find hope in a time of hopelessness.   

Quick Note – Deuteronomy 29:18-20 – Abusing Grace

Deuteronomy 29:18-20 – – Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations.  Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.”  This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.  The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven. 

The longer we are Christians, the more likely we become callous to sin.  I have noticed that when a person first gives their life to the LORD, they are on fire for Jesus.  They want to follow Him; they want to do what is right; they want to obey His every word.  They hate sin and will do whatever they can to stay away from it.  However, as the years go by, they start to compromise here and there.  They allow the occasional “white” lie; they slack off reading the Word of God for a day or two a week; they stop praying as often.  And gradually, sin starts to creep in.  They begin to participate in the sins that once made their heart heavy, excusing themselves because God is a forgiving God.  And unfortunately, many Christians stay there.  They live lives telling themselves that it is okay to sin, because God is a God of grace anyways.  Since they won’t go to hell, they feel it is okay to continue in sin.  But this is the wrong attitude for a Christian. 

Moses, in Deuteronomy 29, warned the people of Israel before they entered the Promised Land to keep and to follow God’s law.  He warned them to be careful, lest there be one person in their nation who thinks to himself, “I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.”  He wanted them to be wary of anybody who thought, “I am part of God’s chosen people, so I will always be protected by Him, so why be afraid of breaking His law?  He will forgive me anyways.”  Moses knew that this attitude towards God’s mercy and grace would lead to the downfall of the nation, so he warned them about it. 

Unfortunately, this attitude exists in many Christians today.  This is the attitude that I described earlier, where a Christian abuses grace by continuing in sin, because he is already “saved.”  This attitude was so damaging that Paul warned the church in Rome in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”  This nonchalant attitude towards sin has creeped into the church and harmed its witness to the world.  It has damaged its reputation, which desperately needs repair today.  So stop living in the stubbornness of your heart, thinking that God will not punish you for your sin.  Yes, salvation will never be taken away from you; however, God can and will bring judgment for your sin.  So instead of living in sin, let us run towards God.  Let us follow His commands and reprove any Christian, even ourselves, when we abuse God’s grace and mercy.

PS:  If you continue in sin, you need to consider whether you are a true believer.  For 1 John 3:8-10 says, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.  No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.  By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

Quick Note – Numbers 11:21-23 – A Capable Hand

Numbers 11:21-23 – ²¹ But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ²² Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” ²³ And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

Has somebody ever told you that they could do something to help you, but you didn’t believe them?  I am pretty sure I have had that experience playing basketball.  There were times when I saw a player and thought to myself, “He can’t keep up with us.  He won’t be able to make those baskets.  He certainly cannot make that pass.”  Even though I was told to trust that he could play, I just couldn’t believe it, because he had the wrong build or height.  However, after a few minutes on the court, I would be proven wrong, because he could play well. 

A similar but more pronounced situation happened to Moses.  In Numbers 11, while on the way to the Promised Land, the Israelites became tired of eating manna.  Manna was the food that God provided for them; however, they wanted to eat meat.  Because of their desire, they complained to Moses and wished that they had stayed in Egypt as slaves.  Moses tired of all these complaints told God that this was not his responsibility, so God told Moses that He would provide them meat, not only for a day or two but for a whole month.  Common sense told Moses that that would be an impossibility, because where could they find meat to feed 600,000 people for one whole month.  It was then that Moses told God, “How could this be?”  God’s simple response to Moses was “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?  Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”  God then sent a wind that brought so much quail to the camp that it filled about 400 sq miles of area and a height of about 3 feet.  God certainly provided and did as He said He would.  This story ends with each Israelite family gathering at least 60 bushels of quail.  However, because of their complaining attitude, God sent a plague upon them for their ungratefulness and sin.  Regardless of what happened to the Israelites, Moses was shown that day that God can and will do what He says. 

As Christians, there are times in our lives, where God tells us to trust Him – to trust that He will provide, that He will lead, and that He will guide.  When the situation seems grim and common sense tells us that nothing can be done, we must still trust that God will be faithful to His Word.  God’s hand is not short.  He can do whatever He wants whenever He wants to, so if He promises to work in our lives, then we can trust in Him.  His Word will hold true.  Our God is faithful and capable.  Let’s not doubt His hand. 

Quick Note – Revelation 2:5 – Remember Your Past

Revelation 2:4-5 – ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.

Chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation were seven letters that John was told by Jesus Christ to write to the seven early churches. Each letter was a short note where Christ was reprimanding, reproving, and/or encouraging the church. Each church had a problem(s) that they were struggling with; it could be persecution from enemies, a loss of passion and love for Christ, or false teaching. Whatever the case was, they needed to hear from Jesus, to repent of whatever wrong they had committed, and to renew their relationship and passion for Him.

The first church that was addressed was the church in Ephesus, which had a lot of good things going for it. The Christians there served God through good works, endured persecution and trouble patiently, and even hated false teaching. In anybody’s eyes, the church was doing well. However, one thing that Jesus saw was a problem with the church was that they had lost the love they had for Him at first. They were good at doing the works. They were good at following the rules. However, the passion and love that they had for Christ when they first received Him as Lord and Savior was gone. They were going through the motions well, but the heart was no longer fully there. This is why Jesus told them in vs. 5, remember from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. He wanted them to remember how much they loved Him when they first believed and to return to that love once again.

It can be very easy for those of us who have been Christians for a long time to forget how much we loved Jesus when we first believed. We had the courage to share the Gospel with everyone we knew. We had the passion to read His Word and to spend time with Him in prayer. We had the love for Him and for other disciples of Christ. We longed to be with Him. However, as the years went by, our hearts grew colder. We continued to do the works and to serve Him at church, but our love had waned. We began to go through the motions. So this reprimand is also directed towards us. Remember from where you have fallen. Remember how much you loved Him before. Go back. Repent. Return to His love for you and your love for Him. Renew your passion for Christ today.

Quick Note – 1 Corinthians 12:18 – Specifically Designed

1 Corinthians 12:17-20 – ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? ¹⁸ But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. ¹⁹ If all were a single member, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

Have you ever wanted to be someone other than who you are?  I don’t mean looking to attain a goal to become someone God wants you to be, because all of us should stive to become the best person God has made us to be.  But I want you to consider whether you are trying to become something you are not.  If you are trying to fulfill a job or act in a way that God has never meant you to be.

To make it clearer, let me give you a few examples.  I would love to be a professional NBA basketball player, but I certainly do not have the skills nor height nor build to do so.  I could develop the skills by practicing.  I could even get the build by working out.  But I certainly could not clear the height barrier.  Let me give you another example.  I know of a lot of people who would love to become soloists in the choir.  But the unfortunate thing is that they simply cannot carry a tune.  They are just tone deaf.  Now, that is not to say they shouldn’t praise God in singing, for God would happily receive a joyful noise, but the person shouldn’t try to become a soloist.  It is just not his or her gift. 

1 Corinthians 12 talks about spiritual gifts.  Paul addressed the Corinthian church about this issue, because he knew many of them desired certain gifts, specifically, the gift of tongues.  They wanted to be able to speak in this angelic language.  However, not all of them, had that gift.  So some Christians in that church likely felt inadequate.  They were likely telling themselves that if they didn’t have that gift, then they were worthless.  This is why Paul used the example of a foot saying, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” and an ear saying, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body.”  People felt like they didn’t deserve to be a part of the body, because they didn’t have certain gifts. 

But Paul wanted to correct this mentality.  He told them, “If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?”  He wanted them to know that they each had a role that was necessary for the body to function.  Yes, they might not speak in tongues.  They might not preach or teach or sing.  But they had a role to play and that role was important.  And most importantly, that role was chosen by God.  Verse 18 said, “God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.”  God picked that person to play that specific role.  He specifically selected, created, designed you to play the role that He wants you to play in the church. 

So don’t ever feel inadequate, because you don’t have another talent that someone else has.  God has made you the way He wanted you to be made.  He designed you perfectly even in your mother’s womb.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).  Take joy in that and fulfill the role that He has for you, because without you, the church would be missing something very important.