I've had several friends lately share with me some serious struggles they are going through. Most of them surround things like job decisions or illness and health anxieties, either for themselves or a close friend of family member.
I never mind these conversations because I consider it a privilege that they would even confide in me and ask me for prayer and support. However, after the conversations, I usually can't help but to mull over their words in my head like laundry in a dryer. It takes a while for the clothes to dry, so they just stay in there tumbling and tumbling.
One thing that has really brought me comfort is the book of Lamentations in the Bible. It's written mostly likely by the prophet Jeremiah as he laments over the desolations brought on Jerusalem and the Holy Land by the Chaldeans.
How often in our lives are we mourning also, about the desolations brought unto us or the people we love. This is why I feel like I can relate so much to Jeremiah's cries to the Lord.
Here are some verses from Lamenations chapter three that I've been thinking about this week:
55 I called on your name, O LORD,
from the depths of the pit.
56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears
to my cry for relief."
57 You came near when I called you,
and you said, "Do not fear."
2 comments:
Jessica,
Lately the Songs of Lament in the Scriptures have meant a lot to me. I never appreciated these before. Michael Card has written a book on these psalms called _A Sacred Sorrow_ but I haven't read it yet.
Betsy
your post really helped me as a friend of mine, whom i'm not really sure is a Christian, is dealing with the terminal illness of her grandfather and wanted to know some scripture to help her thru... just a reminder to her that the Lord wants us to cry out to Him in our pain and that He hears us - thank you!
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