Restoration Through Grief
By Dean Collins
As Lamentations comes to a close, Jeremiah described the deep grief of God’s people as they considered the utter destruction of Jerusalem, where the holy stones of the temple lay scattered in the streets and those who once were prominent citizens are treated as common and irrelevant to anyone or anything.
What does deep grief look and sound like? Jeremiah described it this way:
“The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning. The crown has fallen from our head; woe to us, for we have sinned! For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim…”
As the citizens of the city grieved, they acknowledged their own failure that created this horrible tragedy. Sometimes we grieve because of tragic mistakes that we have made. Sometimes our grief stems from things completely out of our control. But regardless of the nature or reason for our loss that leads to grief, we find in Lamentations and in many places in scripture that God can handle all of our pain. He does not judge us for crying out to him in desperation. He invites us to bring our pain and loss to him. And it is there that healing and restoration can begin.
In suffering through the pain of our failures and our losses, we often cannot see the path forward or the end to our agony. It is in such a moment that Jeremiah found an anchor and a reason for hope: “O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.” When nothing else feels stable and we cannot find our footing in life, we must remember that there is one who is eternal and reigns forever.
The cry of lamentations was “Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old.” In the twelfth chapter of Romans, Paul reminds us that when we present ourselves to God, it is there that we discover his mercies and can be transformed by the renewal of our minds. Our acknowledgment that it is only in God that ultimate restoration is possible leads us to a surrender that awakens our hope and grants us a purpose in living. In is in the will of God that we once again discover what is good and acceptable and perfect.
So today, Father, we bring our grief. Grief over the sins we have committed, and grief due to losses and pain that were out of our control. We acknowledge that nothing in this world can satisfy or help us but you and you alone. Today, we offer our bodies as living sacrifices and ask that you renew our minds, that we might see clearly and live righteously. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Lamentations 4:1-2, 5:15-22; Romans 12:1-2 ESV
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