Sitting in the Dark

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). One of my friends is a melancholy by nature. In fact, he can be bucolic and has been nicknamed “Eeyore.” There are times when we will spend hours just talking through some of the challenges and difficulties of life. I can say that he does have some very real challenges, however we can always find a way to overcome the emotion of them by turning our attention to the goodness of God’s grace. He has told me on more than one of these occasions that this is the only real answer to the feelings of overwhelming grief he experiences. He has also told me of the many well-meaning people who have tried to comfort him in these times by simply saying he should just try harder to stop dwelling on it so much and just move forward. This advice is understandable; as Christians we sometimes think it is our duty to always be positive and joyful. Yet in Lamentations we see another picture. We read the words of someone pouring out their deepest pain, and even accusations, to God. The author cries against God, “He made me dwell in darkness like the dead” (v. 6). Many of us have felt this darkness, the deep sadness of pain, loss, depression. Sometimes we are afraid to grieve, to give our sorrow full voice. We fear that our cries will show us unfaithful, unbelieving in the goodness of God. Yet in this chapter we read of both deep sorrow and deep faith as the author writes, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases” (v. 22). The author trusts God’s love but also isn’t afraid to enter the darkness of grief. He puts the full force of his pain into a prayer full of anger and hurt, allowing himself space to grieve, knowing that God’s love is strong enough to stay with him in that darkness. Perhaps you are sitting in some darkness now. It may be the result of some significant loss in your life. May I first encourage you by saying that your feelings are real. Further, I would not for a moment pretend to understand how you are feeling even though I may have experienced something very similar. I would want to walk beside you in this time with the words of encourage from our writer of today’s reading: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. There is a day coming when all of these circumstances will pale in comparison to the incredible blessings of eternal life. Focus your thoughts on Him who has secured that life for us!