Enough?

In 586 B.C. the armies of Babylon descended as promised (e.g., Jer 1:14-16) on Judah. People starved, disease spread, warriors fled, the army scattered, and the king was captured. His sons were executed in front of him, then his eyes were gouged out and he was led away in chains. Jerusalem was burned, the walls torn down. The palace was burned and Solomon's Temple was sacked and set on fire. Millions were killed and most of those who weren't were led off to Babylon as slaves.

In his 60's by then, the prophet, Jeremiah, who had predicted it, for which he was abused and imprisoned, lived through it all. He is credited with writing Lamentations as a result. And it is real lament. In it we read things like "against me He turns His hand again and again the whole day long" (Lam 3:3), "though I call and cry for help, He shuts out my prayer" (Lam 3:8), "He has filled me with bitterness" (Lam 3:15), and "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.'" (Lam 3:17-18)

"Oh, my, my, Jeremiah!" we protest. "You call yourself a prophet from God and you talk about God this way? That won't do." You see, we have this notion that you either talk nice about God (and that's good) or you refer to God in the negative (and that's bad). But Jeremiah didn't. He embraced (and lamented) all the trials and tribulations laid on him as coming from God ... and trusted God:

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." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lam 3:21-26)

Jeremiah allowed himself to experience the full ride. He didn't mitigate the pain and even the sense of hopelessness that accompanied it. He didn't try to excuse God or minimize the experience. Even so, he still found that waiting for God was good and that simply knowing God was his portion and His hope. Not the blessings. Not the comfort. Not the good times. God and God alone. Everything else -- blessings and tribulations -- was just gravy. A lot of gravy.

Is that you? Is that me? Do we find our hope in simply knowing God? Or are we requiring something more of God? More than just Himself?