The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Lamentations 3:37 – 5:22
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 8: Exile: God Disciplines His People
Background Information: Lamentations 3:37 – 5:22
Babylon’s two-year siege of Jerusalem was horrific. Children starved, mothers were reduced to cannibalism, and every aspect of society had devolved into utter chaos. God had warned them of this judgment a century earlier through Isaiah; however, when it actually came, the warning did not relieve the shock or the suffering. The book of Lamentations doesn’t end with a nice and tidy conclusion; it ends with them feeling like God has forgotten them. The oldest question in the world is, “If God is there, and he is good, and he is powerful, then why is there evil and suffering in the world?” The common answers are, “He is not there, he is not good, or he is not powerful.” Some religions, such as Buddhism and Christian Science, say evil and suffering are illusions; they are not real. The Bible gives a very different answer. It proclaims that God is there, he is good, he is powerful, and evil and suffering are very real. It doesn’t offer simplistic answers to complicated questions. It does offer a manifold response that includes seven different themes, or motifs, as answers to human suffering. The seven are:
1. Suffering can be the consequence of sin.
2. Suffering can be caused by Satan.
3. God uses suffering to draw unbelievers to Christ.
4. God uses suffering to sanctify Christians.
5. God uses suffering for his own glory.
6. There is mystery; we don’t know in every case why we suffer.
7. Finally, we look to the cross of Christ.
Christ, God with us, demonstrated his goodness by dying on the cross for our sins, and he demonstrated his power by rising from the dead. God has done something, he is doing something, and he will do something. We live in the middle of his work to bring an end to evil and suffering. In these middle days, there are many reasons why we suffer, but one answer will always be, we don’t know why. As we suffer, we can cry out to God for mercy and help. We can give full voice to our anguish. We can, on the other side of the cross, look back and see Jesus suffering, paying for our sins, and we can know that God is with us and that he loves us. We can, on this side of the return of Christ, look at our suffering with hope, knowing that it will not have the final word.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Pray for the work of Hope’s Gate. Ask God to use their ministry to faithfully proclaim the beauty of the gospel.
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.