Devastation . . . that’s probably as good a word as any to try and capture the context for Jeremiah’s five poems which make up the book of Lamentations. If I try to imagine what it would have been like to walk among the ruins of Jerusalem after the final assault of the Babylonians, perhaps I might imagine a “ground zero” scene in the days after 9-11 . . . or, drawing on more recent images, the destruction left by the earthquake in Haiti last year or, the wasteland left in the aftermath of the tsunami that literally swept away entire towns in Japan. I see Jeremiah walking amidst the smoldering rubble . . . perhaps in shock . . . connecting the dots between “the word of the LORD” he had been warning the people with, and the reality of the forewarned judgment all around him. And so he reflects . . . and he writes. And in the midst of this post trauma consideration, the Spirit of God allows Jeremiah to see beyond the devastation . . .

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 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 Your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ ” (Lamentations 3:19-24 ESV)

As Jeremiah tried to process the “new normal” it crushed him. A constant replay ran through his mind . . . the horrible conditions and suffering while under siege . . . the breaking down of the walls . . . the slaughter . . . the razing of the temple . . . it took away his breath to even remember it . . . it bowed his very soul. He had seen first hand the wrath of God . . . He had encountered, “up close and personal”, the God of judgment . . . and it was overwhelming. What now? How does one “keep on keepin’ on” after such an experience?

“But this I call to mind . . . the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases . . . His mercies are new every morning . . . great is His faithfulness . . . He is my portion . . . therefore I will hope in Him.”

By God’s grace and through the inner testimony of God’s Spirit, Jeremiah called upon what He knew to be true about His God. He knew a righteous and holy God could do nothing less than judge sin — though He couldn’t have imagined fully what judged sin looked like. But He also knew that God took no pleasure in “afflicting and grieving the children of men” (3:33) . . . that “though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love” (3:32). Jeremiah had seen what God would do to those who rejected Him, but was also convinced that “the LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (3:25).

Amidst this mind numbing “season” of his life, Jeremiah would straighten up . . . and look up . . . and find hope in the God who was his portion. Rather than curl up amidst the ruin, he would stand up, “Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven” (3:40-41 ESV).

And so, I’m reminded that in worst of circumstances there is opportunity. Opportunity to reflect . . . opportunity to recall . . . opportunity to return. That, when every foundation seems shaken and instable, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases . . . great is His faithfulness . . . a refuge remains. That God would have us look beyond the devastation and wait for Him . . . and seek Him . . . for “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD” (3:26).

And in that, there is hope . . . amen?