Alone; Forsaken; Depressed

Lamentations 3:1-19

In our first article on Lamentations 3, we looked into the background of Jeremiah. We discovered that, though he was obedient, he suffered greatly. Today we will look at the pinnacle of Jeremiah’s lament and how he passionately expresses his grief and sorrow.

Jeremiah refers to God as “He” in fourteen of the first sixteen verses (the exceptions being verse one and verse fourteen), and each time Jeremiah is stating what “He” has done to him. “He” has made me walk in darkness (verse 2), “He” has turned His hand against me (verse 3), “He” shuts out my prayer (verse 8). Jeremiah is making two claims with these statements: first, God is in complete control of everything that has happened, and second, He is the reason for my pain.

Some believers will go through suffering and pain because of their sin. They are reaping what they have sown. Yes, God forgives our sin, but He cannot simply ignore it. We still must face the consequences for our sin, though, thankfully, God is gracious, and we don’t reap the full penalty of what we have sown (Psalm 103:10). However, other times believers will go through pain and suffering despite their obedience. Believers like Jeremiah, such as Job and Paul and more modern believers like William Tyndale, have faced pain and suffering despite their obedience.

Jeremiah is not hiding from the truth that his obedience to God has caused this pain. He is openly expressing how he is hurting. He is open and honest with God, and He cannot understand why He has caused him to suffer so much. Let’s look at a few verses to understand how Jeremiah was feeling.

“He has aged my flesh and my skin and broken my bones” (Jeremiah 3:4). This suffering has taken a toll on his body. He feels weak, frail and broken.

“He has set me in dark places like the dead of long ago” (Jeremiah 3:6). There is no light, only darkness. He feels hopeless, destitute, and alone.

“Even when I cry and shout, He shuts out my prayer” (Jeremiah 3:8). Jeremiah feels alone. He cries out to God but feels as though He is not there. He feels as though He is being ignored.

“He has bent His bow and set me up as a target for the arrow” (Jeremiah 3:12). He feels as though God has personally attacked him. As if God’s sole plan was to cause him pain.

“I have become the ridicule of all my people – their taunting song all the day” (Jeremiah 3:14). Jeremiah has become, in the eyes of the Jews, a traitor. He is hated amongst the people he loves and is trying to help. Despite his obedience and love for his people, he has become loathed.

Jeremiah’s feelings may not have all been reality. He was not alone despite this feeling of loneliness (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6, 8). Since he was being obedient, God did hear his prayers. But the truth is this is how he felt. He felt alone. He felt forsaken. He felt depressed.

Fellow believer, odds are you have also felt this way before, likely on more then one occasion. Perhaps you feel alone or forsaken now, or perhaps you suffer from depression. This feeling can be excruciating, and it feels very real despite the truths of the Scriptures. The historic truths of the lives of believers like Jeremiah are included in the Scriptures to help remind us that we are not alone. Other believers have felt alone, other believers have felt forsaken, other believers have felt depressed. Even Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).

In the next article we will look at the hope Jeremiah found, but for now let us see what Jeremiah did that we ought to replicate. Jeremiah was suffering and he was crying out to God trying to understand why He was allowing it. He was open with God, expressing how he felt. This is what we ought to do too. Be open with God, tell Him how you feel. Question Him, not with a heart of anger or spite, but with a heart seeking to understand why. God wants us to pour out our hearts to Him and cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). As we will see later on, Jeremiah was rewarded, and we will be too if we cast our cares on Him.

I understand this is a bleak introduction to this series, but it is how Lamentations three begins. Thankfully we will see the hope Jeremiah found in God next week. Just remember, if you feel alone, forsaken, or depressed, so did Jeremiah. It is not sinful in itself to feel this way. Hold on to God's promises and He will carry you through.

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