“Lord, bring us back to yourself, so we may return; renew our days as in former times…” (Lamentations 5:21)
While the book of Lamentations does not mention its author, it has historically been attributed to be written by the prophet Jeremiah. When these series of five poems were written, the people of Judah were at a low point physically, mentally, and spiritually.
As a result of their disobedience and failure to heed the warnings of the prophets, the people of Judah were conquered and taken into captivity by the Babylonian Empire. With Jerusalem and the temple burnt down and ransacked, on the surface it appears that God has abandoned his people. In today’s reading we see Jeremiah praying to God to restore his people.
However, as we read throughout the Old Testament, God remains faithful to his chosen people even though they constantly rebel against him. Jeremiah’s prayer for restoration is ultimately answered when God calls Nehemiah and Ezra to help rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and the temple respectively.
Is there a particular sin that you are struggling with? Are you facing a trial that seems that will never end? It is in these moments that it is tempting to believe Satan’s lies that God has abandoned you. However, it is important to remember that it is through trials that God makes us more like Jesus. It is through our weakness that we are made strong.
When Jesus was crucified more than 2000 years ago, his death paid the penalty for all our sins in the past, present, and future. After he resurrected from the dead three days later, with a new glorified body, it gave assurance that death no longer has any power over us. As Christians, we now have a living hope that God will one day renew all of his creation.
Although sin has no power over us we should not expect to become completely perfect during our lifetime. We will struggle with sin but at the same time through God’s grace, we are able to become more and more like Jesus. The Reformer, Martin Luther once described Christians as “simultaneously saint and sinner.”
The apostle John wrote that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Like Jeremiah, if we come to God with a repentant heart, he is more than willing to restore us; not on the basis of what we have done, but on what Christ has done for us.