Day 154 – Lamentations: Introduction

“I have cried until the tears no longer come; my heart is broken. My spirit is poured out in agony as U see the desperate plight of my people. Little children and tiny babies are fainting and dying in the streets.” Lamentations 2:11 NLT

Tears can be defined simply as “drops of salty fluid flowing from the eyes.” They can be caused by irritation or laughter, but we know too well that they are usually associated with weeping, sorrow, and grief. When we cry, friends wonder what’s wrong and try to console us. Babies cry for good; children cry at the loss of a pet; adults cry when confronted with trauma and death.

Jeremiah’s grief ran deep. He is remembered as “the weeping prophet”, and his tears flowed from a broken heart. As God’s spokesman, he knew what lay ahead for Judah, his country, and for Jerusalem, its capital, which was known as “the city of God.” God’s judgment would fall, and destruction would come. So, Jeremiah wept. His tears were not self-centred, mourning over personal suffering or loss. He wept because the people had rejected their God – the one who had made them, loved them, and sought repeatedly to bless them. Jeremiah’s heart was broken because he knew that the selfishness and sinfulness of the people would bring them much suffering and an extended exile.

His heart was broken by the things that grieve God, and his tears were of empathy and compassion. Lovely ones, are you weeping for the nations today, as we know God’s final judgment is still to come? The same as people in those times rejected God, isn’t the extremity of it frightening today?

Prayer: Father, as we read Lamentations, show us how to pray and intercede for our world today as we head, day-by-day and hour-by-hour, towards Your final judgment. May we weep for those who do not yet know You or who reject You, just as You weep for them. Amen.