Sorrow to Trust: Lessons From Jeremiah

Many will endure the dark clouds of sorrow for a time, but how do we continue when there seems to be no end? The prophet Jeremiah cries desperately to the Lord as he grows tired from his tears:

My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. They cry to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’ as they faint like a wounded man in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers' bosom (Lamentations 2:11–12).

During Nebuchadnezzar’s 18-month siege of Jerusalem, he cut off supply lines into the city until the people staggered with hunger. Children no longer played in the streets (Zechariah 8:5). Infants slowly died in the arms of mothers without milk. “What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is vast as the sea; who can heal you?” (Lamentations 1:13). What can you say to a mother who has watched her child die? How do you comfort a loved one overcome by grief? Like the vastness of the ocean, the prophet declares his people’s ruin as endless as the sea. He has more questions than he has answers (Jeremiah 8:22). Who can comfort? Who can heal? To God alone he cries in brokenhearted desperation (9:17–20; Psalm 147:3).

In times of grief, however, many cling to empty hope: “Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading” (Lamentations 2:14). Judah’s prophets no longer speak for God (Jeremiah 5:31; 14:13–17; 16:19). Their whitewashed words preach peace, but not repentance (e.g., 28:1–17). Thus, God’s holy city has become a mockery: “All who pass along the way clap their hands at you; they hiss and wag their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: ‘Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of all the earth?’ All your enemies rail against you; they hiss, they gnash their teeth, they cry: ‘We have swallowed her! Ah, this is the day we longed for; now we have it; we see it!’” (Lamentations 2:15–16). Jerusalem has lost her reputation as God’s people. For in her anguish, she is viciously ridiculed by enemies claiming victory over God.

Still, Jeremiah insists that even suffering belongs to God’s eternal plan: “The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity; he has made the enemy rejoice over you and exalted the might of your foes” (v. 17). The prophet bases his teaching on the Law of Moses and on the covenant with David. The Law stipulated that God would bless obedience but curse them for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). Then, to David, God had promised, “Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever—a king eternally on your throne” (see 2 Samuel 7:12–19; Psalm 89). Jeremiah trusts the Lord to keep his word, but this required Judah to first repent and be made righteous. They needed a new covenant with a Prophet greater than Moses and a King more lasting than David. They needed Yahweh’s promise: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:33b–34). This new covenant, ratified by the blood of Christ, declares repentant ones forgiven and spares the sinner from God’s wrath (Hebrews 12:24). The Lord then writes his Word upon our hearts and makes us righteous. He accepts us as his children and proclaims himself our God.

Application Insight: Our God remains forever sovereign in times of judgment and hope, sorrow and comfort, suffering and restoration. Apart from his permission, no ally can rescue nor enemy destroy. So, pour out your heart to him. Express your pain even as you claim his promises. For God does whatsoever he purposes to carry out his word. Just like his promises made to Moses and to David, he has promised a new covenant through his Son for those who trust in him.

Lament reminds believers that we don’t ever hurt alone. Instead, our Savior suffered to take away our suffering and died to take away our sin. According to Isaiah 53, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; . . . Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (vv. 3a, 4–5). Lament refocuses our hearts on this good news in Jesus Christ. Because of Christ, we never suffer alone and we never suffer in full. These truths transform our worship into prayer which leads to trust.

Application Insight: Biblical lament follows four basic steps: First, come. Turn to the Lord in prayer. Second, cry out. Honestly express your struggles to God. Third, communicate: Ask God for specific help according to his character. Pray the Bible back to him and remind him of his promises. Finally, commit. Affirm God's worthiness to be trusted and choose to give him praise.

Our Lord Jesus demonstrated this pattern in the garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death (Mark 14:36). He turned to God in prayer: “Abba, Father.” He brought his desperate cry: “Remove this cup from me.” He asked his Father to act according to his character: “All things are possible for you.” Finally, he chose to trust: “Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Let us learn to lament like Jesus and he will turn our desperate sorrows into trust.