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I worked landscaping for many years. The Fall was both my favorite and least favorite time of year. On one hand, I would stop my regular job and change to something new. The problem was that our new job involved planting new grass seeds. It was a lot of hard work. I dragged big, heavy machines around that would tear up the ground. When we finished, the yard looked like a disaster.
One time, a customer called me to complain. We had seeded their yard two weeks prior. They complained that they still saw the seeds and torn-up dirt. All they saw was the mess. I had to explain the mess, and the seeds had to remain until the rain. Only after the rain would the ground settle and the new grass grow.
We don’t like the mess, and we don’t like the rain, but rain produces growth. I said last week that the first two chapters are like rain (tears). We grimace at the pain Judah endured, but the tears shed produced flowers of faith in chapter 3. Jeremiah began to remember who God is. That was where hope was found for him and Jerusalem.
Even in deep sufferings, we must find our hope in God, who is loving and merciful. When all we can see is our pain and suffering, may we turn to God and recall who He is and His great love for us. This hope will carry you through the mess. It will carry you through the rain. And it will carry you through the dark days of doubt and lead you to a gloriously beautiful morning surrounded by the mercies of God!
Call to Mind God’s Love and Mercy
3:21-23
Leading up to verse 21, Jeremiah recalls all of the pain and suffering they had endured because of their sin. God had driven Judah away with a rod like a shepherd casting out his sheep. Judah’s bones are broken and have been encircled with darkness. God was like a bear hunting them. He was like a hunter with a bow. God had driven the people into the ground. Suffering was all they could see. All seemed lost.
To make it worse, this was because of their sins. They had provoked the anger of God for generations. They had killed the prophets and ignored the messages and miracles God had sent. Was God done with them forever?
By verse 20, Jeremiah had become depressed, remembering all of the pain and suffering he had experienced and seen. Have you ever felt that? Sometimes we can’t see God through the clouds of suffering. Our hope begins to fade as we look at our surroundings. We may wonder, “Is God done with me forever?” If you are there this morning, like a light piercing the darkness, I want you to hear the words of the prophet Jeremiah. I want you to see where He finds soul-satisfying, grief-defying hope.
“Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:” When the present only presented depression, Jeremiah looked back. He recalled God’s character. He remembered God’s faithful love. Jerusalem had not perished completely. Why not? Because God’s love outweighs His anger. Did they deserve God’s wrath? Yes. But God’s love for His people motivated Him to rescue them. Because of God’s love, the people would be restored. God was not finished with them. They could not exhaust the mercies of God.
Beloved, in the dark days of doubt and hardship, remember that the God we worship is present and His faithful love will endure. We often only look at what is around us. Jeremiah is telling us to look up. Through the unimaginable suffering faced by Jerusalem, Jeremiah finds hope and joy in God’s love that He had lavished on His people.
Let us, in our day of doubt, pain, and suffering, look to what God has done to display His love for us. Look to the cross of Christ. God’s ultimate display of love for us is found in Jesus. He that had done no wrong, known no sin, took on the sin of the world. He endured the wrath of God. Why? So that we can be God’s people. Jesus did not have to do this. God’s love motivated Him to do so. When we hurt, look to Jesus. Let that give you hope in and through your distress.
You cannot exhaust the love and mercy of God. His mercies will never end because God has an infinite love. Every morning, His mercies are new and glorious. Jeremiah says this even as he looks around and sees the horrific scene before him. God’s love and mercy outshine the pain. It cuts through doubt, proclaiming that God isn’t done with me yet. And when we see this, truly see this, we will proclaim, “Great is your faithfulness!”
God’s faithfulness should be our song, even as our hearts ache. While we were God’s enemy, Jesus died for us: “Great is your faithfulness, oh Lord!” We have sinned, but Jesus forgave us, “Great is your faithfulness, oh Lord!” When all I can see is pain and distress, “Great is your faithfulness, oh Lord! Your mercies are new every morning.” Oh, that we would look to Christ and let the flowers of hope bloom!
Call to mind, God Is Your Portion (Inheritance)
2:24-30
Sometimes it is easy to forget the blessings of being the children of God. We may be focused on the wrong blessings or overwhelmed by sorrow. Whichever it is, know that the greatest blessing is that the Lord is our portion or inheritance. What gave Jeremiah hope amid the ashes of sorrow was the realization that the Lord is his inheritance, not this world and suffering. Jerusalem was to inherit the Lord. Therefore, their hope was in Him alone, whether they recognized it or not. And this is exactly why Jeremiah reminded them of this great truth.
Through life’s many sorrows, understand that God is your true inheritance; seeking anything else is foolish. After all, why would you seek the diminished, temporary, lackluster treasures when you already have an infinite imperishable one? Our hope wanes when we try to find hope in the world.
We try to find hope in money, friends, jobs, or rituals. They will fade and let us down. God will never fade. His mercies never end. Even though we sin, God’s love extends to us as it did for Judah, calling us back to Him. Wait for God, He will redeem you.
It is good for a person to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. Why? If the Lord is our inheritance, then He will save us. Who else would you wait on? No one else can save us from sin and death. No one else can wipe away our shame. Only God! So in our sorrow, whether caused by our sin or others, we wait quietly and hopefully (hope-filled) for God to save us. He will restore all things in time. That is a promise we have from Scripture. So bear sorrow as you would a yoke with the hope that it is for only a short time.
Verses 28-30 tell us what posture we should have before the Lord as we hope and wait for Him. These three verses model repentance. As we call to mind that the Lord is our inheritance, we must be aware of our sin before Him. Our response should be humility and repentance. For you parents, you know when a child is wrong, they tend to argue as you dole out discipline. Jeremiah instructs his people not to argue, but to quietly accept God’s discipline so that it may teach them and grow them.
Putting the mouth to the dust and offering their cheek for a strike are outward signs of humility in repentance. Our posture in repentance is humble and patient. Responding in this way brings us into His presence.
When a child is defiant, there is a distance between the parent and child. When we are humble and receive discipline well, the relationship will grow in closeness. Pride and defiance create distance and disunity. Therefore, when you call these things to mind, have a humble heart before our glorious King.
Call to Mind The Heart of God
3:31-33
Verse 31 is good news! At the heart of God is love and mercy. He will not reject us forever. Jeremiah encouraged his readers that God would again bring them under His wing. For now, there is discipline for sin, but it is not final. God’s final word was the cross of Christ. Jesus came and was rejected and killed by the very people He made. Yet His death and resurrection brought all who would follow Him into a relationship with God. You may be beaten down, but look up to the cross. God may seem far away, but He has not rejected you. He has paid the price so that you can be His.
The cross was the ultimate display of God’s heart to sinful people. He died for the very people who were killing Him. He died for the disciple who rejected Him three times the night He was betrayed. After Jesus rose, He restored Peter. In our darkest days, let us rest in the hope that God’s love is for us. He has not rejected us. He is near us.
God is just. Therefore, He will judge sin. Notice verse 32, “Even if he causes suffering…” Why would He do that? Because his people had sinned greatly. His heart is righteous, and therefore, suffering was doled out because of their sins. Jeremiah offers hope that God will also show compassion because of His faithful love. So as Judah experienced pain and suffering, they hoped that God would show compassion and that His love would outlast His anger.
God does not enjoy bringing affliction, even though He is right. His joy is in bringing compassion and grace. So, as you lament over the pain and hurt you experience, call to mind that God’s heart rejoices in compassion. The affliction is temporary, but the love and compassion of God will never fade and will go on for eternity. That is hope for dark times. The heart of God reminded Jeremiah that in the dark days they were in, God was ever present and still filled with compassion for them. God would again restore them. God will restore us, too. Let us hope in that today and throughout our lives.
Conclusion:
As we call to mind these three wonderful truths, let us, along with Jeremiah, rejoice in the faithful love of God. When our hurts seem to overwhelm us, let us call to mind God’s love and mercy. Let us find hope in belonging to God and knowing He is our inheritance. He will never fade or leave. Finally, let us find hope in the heart of God for His people. His faithful love reaches down to us in the depths of despair and breathes life and hope into our lungs.
So, as you mourn and lament, do so with these things in mind. Find hope in their truths. Let our church be a place where we remind each other of these things. Let us be a people of hope and remembering that the Lord is good. Encourage one another. Finally, bring this hope to those who do not yet know our great God. Beloved, hope in this: The faithful love of the Lord never fades. Great is your faithfulness, Oh Lord!