Prayer: Father, provide me with understanding of Your ways and wisdom. Amen.
Reading: Lamentations 5 key: vs. 15-16 “Joy has ceased in our hearts. Our dance has turned into mourning. The crown has fallen from our head. Oy to us, for we have sinned!” TLV
Attention: None of us enjoy mourning or lamentation because mourning comes from devastation and loss. For most of us, we experience mourning through loss of a loved one, spouse, friend, or family member. Grief is the word we use more than mourning or lamentation.
Grief is many times defined as a darkness which the one in grief cannot shake or get out of. It is overwhelming emotionally.
From my research on grief, we either choose to process our grief or it processes us for the rest of our lives. Avoiding grief by trying to self-medicate, substance abuse (alcohol or drugs), or rebellious behavior (sexual behavior), only leads one into self-destructive behavior.
Grief is not fun nor enjoyable. It is an emotion which tells us how greatly we loved someone. Everyone grieves differently, but those who loved deeply also tend to grieve deeply. Joy had ceased in the lives of the Hebrews who were in Jerusalem. Their dance had turned into mourning. They felt that joy would never return to them. They would never laugh again and see life as enjoyable. There is hope in God, Adonai. The writer uses this statement to end Lamentations with a ray of hope, “Bring us back to You, Adonai, and we will return. Renew our days as of old—. “God is a God of restoration. He has promised to return for those who follow Him. He has promised that where He is, we may be also. Allow God to restore your life. He has restored me, He can and will restore you.
Action: I choose to allow God to restore my life.
Yield: I choose to submit my brokenness to God and allow Him to restore me.
Engage: I choose to engage with the sovereign God of the Universe.
Relationship: I choose to live in holy, intimate relationship with God.
Prayer: Father, may I look to You for hope and restoration. Amen.
Memory Verse: Psalms 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Music Video: Lauren Harris—You Restore My Soul
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”