Jeremiah/Lamentations

We finish our journey through Jeremiah this week and then move on to Lamentations, widely attributed to Jeremiah.

It's clear that the writer of Lamentations has experienced incredible trauma, but brings that trauma and trouble to God is a very orderly and well-thought-out way.  Certainly those cries weren't written in a day and what we read is the result of hours, days, weeks, even months of processing what had taken place.  Imagine what the people were going through: they lost everything, and many were taken away from their homes to a foreign land with little hope of returning.

Sometimes the cries of our hearts are hard to put into words.  We can be thankful that God has given us these words to express our hurts and to make our complaints.  We also have several psalms of lament that enable us to do that.  

Yet, even in the sadness, there is hope.  Don't miss Lamentations 3:22-24.  How has God answered your cries for help?  How has he given you hope in the middle of trauma?  How has he helped you process what you've gone through?

Enjoy your reading!  Please share your reflections and questions.  Be sure to use the guiding questions as you read.

Our guiding questions are these: 

What stood out to you in the reading?

Was there anything confusing or troubling?

Did anything make you think differently about God?

How might what you read change the way you live?