WHERE IS GOD? Directions in Despair
Lamentations 3:19-27, 55-57
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Introduction
Ill. – Peter Jenkins, A WALK ACROSS AMERICA, sought advice to train for his walk from his former Cross-country coach Cliff Dubriel’s: “Pete, what you need to do is pick a route cross-country around the hills somewhere and then walk and run the route to see how long it takes you. Just keep doing it every day until you can run the whole way pretty fast. Be sure not to pick one too long or too hilly, because you might get discouraged. After a few days, you will have learned one real important lesson: don’t ever give up! Every muscle, bone and ligament will hurt like they’ve been put through a meat grinder. You must learn to run through that pain. If you don’t learn how to beat pain, you’ll never make it.”
We must learn to run through life’s pains. Jeremiah’s pain in Jerusalem besieged in 586 BC. In the Hebrew it is set out in an alphabetical acrostic and in all probability intended to be used for public recitation. It became a liturgy to help them run through their pain.
We will lift three thoughts on how to run through our pain:
I Hold On to the God Who Holds on to You!
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."”
Lamentations 3:21-24 RSV
Ill.- Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. His father working in the yard saw the boy and also saw an alligator – heading straight for him. He ran to him yelling for him to get out of the water. He made a U-turn and headed for the shoreline. But as he was attempting to get out of the water, the alligator grabbed his leg. His father grabbed his arms. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened by, heard the screams, raced from his truck and shot the alligator. After weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on the son he loved. A newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go!”
The Lord will never let us go! That will help us run through our pain.
II TheWaiting Place in God is Far from a Wasted Place!
“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” Lamentations 3:24-27 RSV
A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree’s leaves away,
Then snapped its bough and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark.
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around,
The weary wind gave up and spoke
“How can you still be standing, oak?”
The oak tree said, “I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two,
Carry every leaf away,
Shake my limbs and make me sway,
But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth.
“You’ll never touch them, for you see,
They are the deepest part of me.”
It was Picasso who is credited with saying, “Life breaks everyone, but some become strong in the broken places.” The area in which a bone is fractured tends to become stronger in that place than before the break. The waiting place in God is far from a wasted place, it is a strengthening place!
III Call on God and God will Call on You!
"I called on thy name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; thou didst hear my plea, `Do not close thine ear to my cry for help!' Thou didst come near when I called on thee; thou didst say, `Do not fear!'” Lamentations 3:55-57 RSV
Ill. - Mother’s morning devotions – sustained and strengthened her days with spiritual nourishment.
In Cologne, in early 1940, a much-beloved professor of philosophy, Peter Wust, lay dying after a long illness. His pupils sent in word to him and asked him to give them a parting message of counsel from his deepest experience of life. He sent back to them the following note:
The magic key is not reflection, as you might expect from a philosopher, but it is prayer. Prayer as the most complete act of devotion makes us quiet, makes us objective. A man grows in true humanity in prayer. Prayer is the final humility of the spirit. The greatest things in existence will only be given to those who pray. In suffering one learns to pray best of all.
The words of Jeremiah ring true: You come near when I call on you; you say, ‘Do not fear!’
Conclusion
On June 9, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine were last seen trying to be the first to ascend to the summit of Mt.Everest. They were not seen again. Eventually, in 1999, their bodies were found close to the summit. When the team that tried to attempt the summit climb returned to England in 1924, they had a memorial dinner for Mallory and Irvine. Upon the wall behind the head table was a vast portrayal of Mt.Everest’s elusive summit. Several spoke of their loss. One speaker however arose and turning to that summit said these words: Mount Everest, I speak to you. You have defeated us 3 times, but we will defeat you. You cannot get any bigger, but we can.
You can run through your pain and reach the other side by holding on to the God who holds on to you, waiting on Him and calling on Him! Those mountains we face cannot get any bigger, but with God we can and will overcome!