For Those Who Weep + TONIGHT & Carolfest Friday!

The coming of Jesus is good news for those who weep.

“my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.” Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:17-24).

Photo by Urban Vintage on Unsplash

The book of Lamentations was written from the wreckage of the great city of Jerusalem, laid waste by the Babylonian empire. It contains five chapters, five different poems of deep lament. The poems were written in Hebrew acrostic poetry, where each section begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The book details the sufferings of God’s people from A to Z.

In the middle of the third chapter of Lamentations comes the key passage of the book, verses 19-24. In the weeping city, the writer puts all his weight down on God: “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him.” The writer declares, “great is your faithfulness.” The context of this trust and this declaration of God’s character helps me. Look back at verses 17 and 18. “My soul is bereft of peace.” “My endurance has perished.” This great confession of hope in God comes from a deep valley of despair, not a mountaintop of success.

What does this teach us? At least this. You can be honest with God. As your soul is “bereft of peace,” as you taste the bitterness of “ the wormwood and the gall,” as your “endurance has perished,” you are not Godforsaken. Bring your lament to Him. Pray this passage to him. The Lord is near, not distant.

How do we know? Around 600 years later, outside that same city, they offered our Lord Jesus, God the Son, wine mixed with gall. He tasted it and spit it out. He refused anything that would dull or numb his experience of pain. Our Lord endured the cross for us. We do not pray to a Savior who is unacquainted with grief, pain, or death. We pray to a Savior who suffered in our place, died, and rose again. He is near, friends. We can go to Him. We can grieve with Him. He will come to us. He will grieve with us. He will restore our hope.

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TONIGHT AT IMMANUEL!

Join us tonight at 6:30 PM for a special gathering, Nashville Alight: Celebrating God's Work in Nashville Churches. We are happy to welcome Pastor Elliott Cherry from Midtown 12th South as our guest speaker!

CAROLFEST 2024 - THIS FRIDAY!

We at Immanuel warmly invite you—along with your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers—to join us for Carolfest 2024: We Wish You a Jazzy Christmas!

• 5:30pm: Festive fun begins!

  • Cookies and dessert in the café (bring your best to share!)

  • Hot cocoa, cider, and bonfires in the courtyard

  • Logos Bookstore open in the lobby

• 6:15pm: Carol-singing in the Worship Center

• 7:00pm: A Charlie Brown Christmas LIVE performance

We hope to see you there!