#4 (The
“Remember” Series)
“REMEMBER THE LESSONS OF SUFFERING!”
TEXT: Lamentations
3:19-40
INTRO: Don’t you
just hate it when God doesn’t answer your prayers correctly? (This means of
course that God didn’t act and do things our way!) Don’t you just get mad when you have
prayed and told God how something should be done and He only does part of what
you prayed for? Worse yet, don’t
you just get frustrated with the Lord when He totally ignores your prayer and
does something completely different from what you
asked?
Of course if God answered prayer
exactly as we have always wanted we would never suffer, and in our minds at
least the world would be a perfect place! And of course we would be deeply
spiritual and never doubt the Lord... etc., etc., etc.
HOWEVER; the reality of living
for the Lord is that we do suffer and our prayers aren’t always answered the way
we want them to be. In fact, as
Christians we often suffer just as much as any other person in this world! So then, what is the difference between
our suffering and unbelievers in this world?
The difference is that our suffering is
understood in the context of eternity and God’s purposes which are at times
above our understanding. Suffering
for Christians is not without meaning, but in the world the same cannot always
be true! Suffering is just another
tool God uses to produce in us the fruit of His Spirit, He doesn’t delight in
letting us suffer but He will use it to make us more like His son
Jesus!
The lessons of suffering are patience,
humility, grace, trusting in God’s goodness even when we don’t see it,
dependency on the Lord, compassion for others, perspective, thankfulness,
love, sensitivity, etc.
Prop.
Sent: Suffering is not
a bad thing in the hands of a good God; it sometimes is the
instrument of growth, deliverance, and salvation!
ILLUS: YEARS AGO
THE FARMERS IN SOUTHERN ALABAMA WERE HIT HARD BY SUFFERING. EACH YEAR THEY PLANTED THEIR ONLY CASH
CROP – COTTON. THEY HAD TO PLOW
EVERY SPOT OF LAND TO MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE OFF COTTON. THIS ONE YEAR HOWEVER THEIR CROPS WERE
HIT HARD BY THE BOLL WEEVIL, DESTROYING ALL THEIR CROPS. THE NEXT YEAR THEY PRAYED AND MORTGAGED
THEIR HOMES TO HAVE THE MONEY TO PLANT COTTON AGAIN, AGAIN THE BOLL WEEVIL
DESTROYED THEIR CROPS! MANY OF THEM
LOST THEIR LAND AND FARMS; SOME LOST THEIR FAITH IN A GOOD GOD. A FEW HOWEVER DECIDED TO TRY AN
EXPERIMENT, THEY PLANTED PEANUTS THE NEXT YEAR. THE PEANUTS GREW LIKE WEEDS AND SOON THE
MARKETPLACE RESPOUNDED WITH A RAVENOUS APPETITE FOR PEANUTS. THE FARMERS WHO PLANTED PEANUTS BECAME
RICH MEN WITHIN JUST A FEW YEARS, SO RICH IN FACT THAT THEY ERECTED A SPECIAL
MONUMENT IN TOWN – A LARGE BOLL WEEVIL! THIS MONUMENT WAS TO SOME A REMINDER OF
THE EVIL THAT BROUGHT LOSS, BUT TO THESE FARMERS IT WAS A GIFT THAT BROUGHT THEM
GREATER WEALTH THOUGH AT FIRST IT BROUGHT SUFFERING. THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE TRIED SOMETHING
LIKE PEANUTS IF IT HADN’T BEEN FOR THE BOLL WEEVIL! THIS MONUMENT OF SUFFERING WOULD CAUSE
THEM TO ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT SUFFERING SOMETIMES YIELDS SOMETHING GOOD IF WE
RESPOND POSITIVELY TO IT. – SOURCE UNKNOWN
I. REMEMBERING THE REALITIES OF
LIFE 3:19-20
A. Affliction & Suffering
3:19
1. ALL people experience suffering
during their lifetime, it is endemic to all creation!
a. This means good and bad people
suffer.
b. “It rains on the
just and the unjust...”
2. The reality of life includes a
variety of ways of suffering, and being a Christian doesn’t mean that God gives
us a pardon from all suffering.
3. Then what is the difference in
being a Christian if we are just as prone to suffer in life as
unbelievers?
a. For an unbeliever suffering has
little meaning or purpose to it, it is viewed as a meaningless painful
experience.
b. For a believer however our
perspective is not temporal it is eternal, thus suffering can be viewed as
having significance not only for this present life, but also for
eternity!
4. This difference also produces a
very different approach to suffering. The world attempts to avoid all suffering
at all costs or to interpret suffering by a very limited viewpoint, while a
Christian can know that God will ultimately deliver us and that we can find
meaning in the experience.
ILLUS: TAKE FOR INSTANCE THE FOLLOWING
SITUATION AND HOW DIFFERENT THE WORLD DEALS WITH IT AND HOW WE MIGHT DEAL WITH
IT AS A CHRISTIAN:
A MAN FALLS
INTO A PIT AND CAN’T GET HIMSELF OUT:
THE
SUBJECTIVE PERSON COMES ALONG AND SAYS, “I feel for you down there.” AND WALKS
AWAY!
THE
OBJECTIVE PERSON COMES ALONG AND SAYS, “It’s logical that someone would fall
down there.”
THE
CHRISTIAN SCIENTIST COMES ALONG AND SAYS, “You only think you are in a
pit!”
THE
PHARISEE COMES ALONG AND SAYS, “Only bad people fall into
pits.”
THE
MATHEMATICIAN CONES ALONG AND calculated HOW he fell into the
pit.
THE
ANTHROPOLOGIST COMES ALONG AND ASKS, “Are there any rare specimens in the
pit.”
A NEWSPAPER
REPORTER COMES ALONG AND ASKS, “Can I have the exclusive story on the
pit?”
A
FUNDAMENTALIST COMES ALONG AND SAYS, “You Deserve your
pit.”
CONFUCIUS
COMES BY AND SAYS, “If you would have listened to me, you would not be in that
pit.”
BUDDHA
COMES BY AND SAYS, “Your pit is only a state of mind.”
THE REALIST
COMES BY AND SAYS, “Yes, boy that is a real pit
alright.”
A GEOLOGIST
COMES BY AND SAYS, “What’s the rock strata look like down
there?”
AN
EVOLUTIONIST COMES BY AND SAYS, “You are a rejected mutant destined to be
removed from the evolutionary cycle, only the genes of people who don’t fall
into pits will survive.”
AN I.R.S.
MAN COMES BY AND SAYS, “How much is that pit worth, and did you pay taxes on it
yet?”
THE
A PROFESSOR
COMES BY and lectures him on the elementary principles of
pits!
AN EVASIVE
PERSONS CONES BY AND AVOIDS THE WHOLE SUBJECT OF THE PIT WITH THE
MAN
A
SELF-PITYING MAN COMES BY AND SAYS, “You haven’t seen anything until you’ve seen
the pit I’ve fallen in before.”
A
CHARISMATIC COMES BY AND SAYS, “Just confess that you’re not really in a
pit!”
AN OPTIMIST
COMES BY AND SAYS, “Just remember, things could be
worse.”
A PESSIMIST
COMES BY AND SAYS, “Things WILL get worse.”
FINALLY ...
JESUS COMES BY AND JUMPS DOWN IN THE PIT WITH THE MAN AND LIFTS HIM OUT OF
IT! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
5. Jeremiah says he will remember his
afflictions and suffering, it drove him to trust in God rather than this
world!
a. The world could offer no real help,
just fancy explanations, but God used suffering as the means of saving
us!
b. This is ultimately realized through
Jesus’ suffering for us, the very reason we celebrate communion is to remember
Christ’s death and suffering for us, not to be morbid, but to celebrate
salvation through His suffering!
B. Anger
& Sadness 3:20
1. Jeremiah is very human here,
suffering brought anger and sadness – it usually does even for
believers!
a. The goal is not to pretend that you
are not angry but to use that anger and focus it for something
good!
b. Sadness is a natural reaction to
tragedy, it is not sinful; it is natural!
c. It is only a problem if we get
stuck in this stage and don’t move on!
2. Jeremiah moves on from anger and
sadness by doing something productive ... REMEMBERING GOD’S FAITHFUL CHARACTER.
(See 3:21-22)
a. Jeremiah didn’t give in to his
sadness, he moves on from it to something positive.
b. This is not the same as “positive confession,” it is confessing
the knowledge of God’s faithfulness and trusting God’s providence in
life.
3. To be stuck in sadness one would
become a very unbalanced person.
a. This is precisely what clinical
depression is and other disorders of mood are!
b. While things might not always
change right away certainly our perspective can!
ILLUS: LIKE THE
MAN WHO WAS SHIPWRECKED ON AN ISLAND ALL BY HIMSELF. WEEKS WENT BY AND NO DELIVERANCE! HE BECAME ANGRY WITH A GOD THAT WOULD
ALLOW THIS. HIS ANGER TURNED TO
DESPAIR HOWEVER WHEN AFTER LEAVING THE MAKESHIFT HUT AND WHILE LOOKING FOR FOOD
HE NOTICED TO HIS HORROR THAT THE SMALL FIRE HE HAD MADE IN THE ONLY SHELTER HE
COULD BUILD SOMEHOW CAUGHT THE WHOLE PLACE ON FIRE AND HIS ONLY SHELTER NOW
BURNED TO THE GROUND! NOW HE WAS
REALLY IN DESPAIR AND ANGRY AT GOD!
HOW MUCH MORE SUFFERING COULD HE TAKE? – UNTIL TO HIS AMAZEMENT A SHIP
APPEARED AND RESCUED HIM. HE ASKED
HOW THE SHIP HAD DISCOVERED HIS PLIGHT AND THEY OF COURSE SAID THEY SAW HIS
SIGNAL FIRE! WHAT HE THOUGHT WAS A
SECOND HORRIBLE TRAGEDY TURNED OUT TO BE THE VERY THING TO HAVE SAVED
HIM! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
II. REMEMBERING THE REALITIES OF LOVE
3:21-40
A. Affirmation & Survival 3:21-24
1. So how does Jeremiah move from
anger & sadness to victory?
a. By moving from the realities of
life which include suffering to the realities of love, especially God’s love
that includes mercy and grace!
b. This was a deliberate move on
Jeremiah’s part, “YET THIS I CALL TO MIND AND THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE
…”
2. Recovery is not accidental, it is planned and executed by
REMEMBERING GOD’S LOVE!
a. This takes effort, thinking about
God’s demonstrations of love right in the midst of suffering would offer
balance!
b. Jeremiah’s sanity and faith were at
stake in the midst of great suffering and loss, perspective had to be
restored!
ILLUS: LIKE THE
GREAT EVANGELIST JOHN HAGGAI. IN
HIS BOOK, “HOW TO WIN OVER WORRY” HE MENTIONS HOW WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG PASTOR HE
TOOK A CHURCH WHERE THERE WERE SOME SERIOUS TROUBLES. DURING THIS TROUBLED TIME HE AND HIS WIFE
HAD A NEW BABY BORN TO THEM, BUT BECAUSE A DRUNKEN DOCTOR PLACED THEIR BABY IN
AN OVERHEATED INCUBATOR IT SUFFERED PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE! WITH TROUBLES AT CHURCH AND A NEW BABY
WITH PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE HE SAID HE NEARLY WENT OUT OF HIS MIND. HE INSTEAD DROVE HIS CAR OUT TO A COUNTRY
ROAD AND GOT OUT AND WALKED UP AND DOWN THIS LONELY ROAD WITH HIS HANDS RAISED
TO GOD AND PRAISING OUT LOUD ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING HE COULD THINK OF TO THANK
GOD FOR. IN THIS WAY HE SAYS HE
KEPT HIS SANITY! HE SAID HE
CONCENTRATED ON THE VICTORIES GOD HAD GIVEN HIM INSTEAD OF THE AGONY HE WAS
EXPERIENCING! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
3. Jeremiah had no answers except the
nature of God which in the final analysis is good!
a. Jeremiah states that things are
certainly bad but God had not allowed their total destruction, His love had
preserved them!
b. Jeremiah also states that in
reflecting on the past God’s compassions had never failed
before!
c. This was how Jeremiah would
survive, by affirming God’s love and goodness.
4. While he had no answers to the immediate problem of
captivity he had the solution to despair and hopelessness, it was the Lord
Himself!
5. The final way to deal with the
suffering would be to simply WAIT ON GOD! 3:24
a. He won’t do crazy things or try and
rush God!
b. This is
trust!
B. Acceptance & Salvation 3:25-30
1. The point of these verses affirm
the fact that God does indeed permit suffering and trials to come into our life
but not in a meaningless way, therefore we are called upon to submit to the
experience and wait patiently on God’s purposes to take hold during this time,
remembering that God is a good God!
a. He also alludes to the fact that it
is easier to handle these times when we are young and are more resilient to new
pressures.
b. The “disgrace” point probably means that we may not
always understand the “WHY” as we are going through the experience, but to be
patient and trust God anyway!
2. During such times we are not to
lose our sense of contentment in God and get restless and do something stupid
that might make matters worse, God is
always working everything toward good to those who love Him, even when we
don’t feel or see it at the time – salvation is God’s goal for us
all!
a. When we get restless we always look
for the most pain-free way to escape, which is not always the best escape
route!
b. Sometimes this only makes the
situation last longer or get worse, staying steady is hard, but
necessary!
ILLUS: A POOR BUT
VERY GOOD STONECUTTER WAS SO UNHAPPY WITH HIS LOWLY POSITION AND JOB THAT ONE
DAY WHEN THE KING CAME BY HE WISHED HE COULD BE THE KING, THEN HE COULD BE
POWERFUL ... HIS CRY WAS HEARD IN HEAVEN AND SUDDENLY HE FOUND HIMSELF THE KING!
“THIS IS POWER” HE THOUGHT, AS THE
SUMMER WORE ON HOWEVER AND THE SUN MERCILESSLY BEAT DOWN ON HIS KINGDOM HE
REALIZED THE SUN WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE KING, SO HE WISHED TO BE THE SUN,
AGAIN HE BECAME THE SUN AND FELT A NEW SURGE OF POWER AND CONTROL ... UNTIL HE
NOTICED THAT EVEN AS POWERFUL AS THE SUN HIS POWER WAS BEING BLOCKED BY
SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS CLOUDS. NOW
HE WISHED TO BE CLOUDS, AGAIN HE BECAME A CLOUD. HE NOW BLOCKED THE SUN AND HE FELT
POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT AGAIN. AS HE
BEGAN TO RAIN ON EARTH CREATING RIVERS HOWEVER HE NOTICED THAT THE ROCKS SEEMED
TO BE UNAFFECTED BY HIS POWER AS RAIN CLOUDS, THESE HUGE STONES WERE MORE
POWERFUL THAN HIS RAIN, SO NOW HE WISHED TO BE A HUGE STONE. AGAIN HE GOT HIS WISH AND BECAME A HUGE
STONE. SUDDENLY A MAN CAME BY WITH
A BAG OF TOOLS AND BEGAN TO CHISEL ON HIM, CHIPPING AWAY JUNKS OF ROCK FROM HIM
AS THAT ROCK. HE NOW REALIZED THIS
MAN WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN HE WAS A ROCK AND ONCE AGAIN HE FOUND HIMSELF WISHING
TO BE THIS MAN SO HE COULD BE POWERFUL.
AGAIN HIS WISH WAS GRANTED; HE BECAME A STONECUTTER, THE SAME THING HE
STARTED OUT AS. IF ONLY HE HAD BEEN
CONTENT IN THE FIRST PLACE! HOW
MANY TIMES DO WE CHRISTIANS DO THIS SAME THING, WISHING TO BE SOMETHING ELSE
WHEN WE FEEL WEAK, OR WISH TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE, ONLY TO FIND THAT THEY
TOO STRUGGLE! – SOURCE UNKNOWN
3. This acceptance doesn’t necessarily
mean passivity however, we should do what we can do and then trust the rest to
God!
4. What Jeremiah is calling for here
is ENDURANCE, a nearly lost quality among Americans today, we are after all the
NOW generation – or the INSTANT generation; instant soup, instant win, instant credit,
instant coffee, etc.
a. Think of some of the endurance
records in Scripture; Abraham and Sarah waiting until their 90’s before the
promised baby showed up!
b. How about Moses waiting until he
was 80 years old to finally lead
c. Noah spent about a year on the ark
waiting for good weather to get off!
d.
e. Joseph waited many many years
before God raised him up from slavery to be the second most powerful man in
Egypt, he spent a great deal of time in pits and prisons for things he never
did!
C. Analysis
& Steadfastness
3:31-40
1. The reason Jeremiah gives for
holding on and enduring is found in this verse (31) “For men are not cast off by the Lord
forever!”
a. God does not afflict us forever; He
always will counterbalance the suffering or end it in some
way!
b. His love is “unfailing.” vs. 32
2. Jeremiah also wants us to know that
God does “not
willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.” vs.
33
a. There is important theology here:
the tragedies of life are brought about by the fallen nature of man, our fallen
nature and others!
b. Therefore suffering is not from
God but from sin and the interrelationships of fallen man with one
another!
c. These are the natural consequences
of sin on this planet, just as there are certain things that happen when we
break physical laws (like falling off a
cliff and gravity kicks in) – these physical laws work on believer and
unbeliever alike in the same way, so do the spiritual laws which also have real
consequences.
d. In heaven we will enjoy the lack of
suffering because there will be no sin in us or those around us, but this is not
true here on this planet now!
3. This is exactly Jeremiah’s point in
vs. 38 “... is it not
from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things
come?” It is in the
sense of God permitting calamities to strike us but always with His purposes in
mind.
a. Therefore we must learn not to
panic and run but to stay the course and remain steadfast in
Christ!
b. Those that panic make unfortunate
choices that often complicate their life even more, fear is a terrible friend
that leads to the wrong choices!
ILLUS: A GENERAL
IN THE PERSIAN ARMY ALWAYS HAD A STRANGE CUSTOM FOR MEN CONDEMNED TO DIE BY
EXECUTION. HE WOULD OFFER THESE
CONDEMNED MEN A CHOICE BETWEEN THE FIRING SQUAD AND A “BIG BLACK DOOR” WITH AN
UNKNOWN FATE. AS THE MOMENT FOR
EXECUTION ARRIVED THE GUARDS WOULD BRING THE CONDEMNED MAN BEFORE THE GENERAL
AND SHOWN THE FIRING SQUAD AND THE BIG BLACK DOOR ... “WHAT WILL IT BE?” THE
GENERAL WOULD ASK. THE SPY IN THIS
CASE HESITATED FOR A MOMENT AND THEN SAID “I CHOOSE THE FIRING SQUAD” AND SO WAS
EXECUTED. THE GENERAL TURNED TO HIS
AIDE AND SAID, “THEY ALWAYS PREFER THE KNOW TO THE UNKNOWN, PEOPLE FEAR WHAT
THEY DON’T KNOW, YET, WE GAVE HIM A CHOICE.” THE AIDE NOW CURIOUS ASKED THE
GENERAL, “WHAT IS BEHIND THE BIG BLACK DOOR?” “FREEDOM” REPLIED THE GENERAL,
“I‘VE ONLY SEE A FEW MEN BRAVE THE UNKNOWN AND ASK FOR THE DOOR THAT LEADS THEM
TO FREEDOM HOWEVER.” LIVING FOR GOD IS AN UNKNOWN ... AND SO MANY CHOOSE TO LIVE
ONLY WHAT THEY KNOW, THE HERE AND NOW AND THEREFORE MISS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR
REAL FREEDOM, GOD OFFERS THE CHOICE ... WHICH ONE DO YOU CHOOSE – THE KNOWN WAYS
OF THIS WORLD OR THE LIFE OF FAITH WITH ALL ITS UNCERTAIN
DYNAMICS? – SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. The final call here was for each of
us to “examine
our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” vs. 40
a. How do you handle the trials that
come to all people, saved and unsaved alike?
b. Do you become bitter, angry, sullen
and withdrawn; do you panic and make poor choices that make matters only
worse?
c. Or do you do your best to deal with
the trial and trust God and continue doing good until the matter or trial
ends!?
5. “REMEMBER GOD’S
FAITHFULNESS WHEN YOU FIND YOURSELF STRUGGLING WITH YOUR OWN
FAITHFULNESS!”
a. And don’t forget the lessons of
suffering so the next time you are already prepared to deal with the dynamics of
suffering!
b. Each trial should make us
stronger if we don’t fail to remember the lessons of
suffering!
CONCLUSION: God’s people are not exempt from
pain or disappointments in life, but we
are different in how we embrace it! No matter how much we might suffer our
perspective of eternity and God’s love always offers us a hope and meaning that
the temporal and lost of this world cannot give! We never have to lose hope – for God’s
love offers a real escape from despair. The lessons of suffering for us only lead
to growth and salvation!!