Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Jeremiah's lamenting here. He's mourning and he's in the middle of devastation. Literally, as he writes, Jerusalem has fallen. The temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed. All of God's people have been exiled. He is right in the middle of mourning.
A Sudden Turn
Then there are a few spots in Lamentations, and this is one of them—there is this sudden turn, where he stops lamenting long enough to remember something. What he remembers here is about God. He remembers that God, you came to me when I called.
That is really remarkable. When you think about Jeremiah, you think about God's people—many of them were in outright rebellion, and we may not be surprised if we read that when they called out to God that God didn't respond, and that God responded in anger, or that God struck them down, or that God dismissed them. But the opposite happens here.
Jeremiah recounts that when he called out to God, God came to him. God came, and He drew near to hurting Jeremiah, doubting Jeremiah, this struggling prophet. God drew near to him, and then He spoke these words of comfort, God said, "Do not fear." That's God saying, it is going to be okay. Do not be afraid.
The Character of God
That is the character of God. God is not distant from His people. You might feel distant at times—that's on us, not Him. God does not grow annoyed with us. He's not annoyed by us in our weakness.
When we call to Him, God comes. When you're afraid, He speaks peace. When you're overwhelmed, He draws near. Another verse in the Psalms, Psalm chapter 34, verse 18, tells us that "God is near to the brokenhearted, and He saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Within the Larger Mourning
The context of this verse that Jeremiah's writing here is very important. It is within this larger complaint—this larger mourning and lamenting. What he's saying for the readers, like you and me, is: I know things might be terrible and hard in your life like they were in Jeremiah's life. When he is writing this, he's saying, I get that. I know what that's like.
I also know that when I called out to God, He answered me. When I've been afraid, Jeremiah is saying, God has drawn near, and He spoke courage to my soul so that I'd no longer be afraid.
God Dispels Fear
Here's what happens: the presence of God, when He draws near, it dispels fear. Of course it does. Whatever you're afraid of, now God comes and draws near—it will dispel that fear. Alone, we're vulnerable. Alone, we're weak. Alone, we're an easy target. But with God, we are strong.
The Bear Cub and the Grizzly
It reminds me of a scene from a movie, an old movie called The Bear, and it's this movie that follows this bear cub through his young life. There's this one scene—the bear cub, I think, has come face to face with a mountain lion, if I remember correctly. The bear cub begins to, out of fear, growl and snarl and try to scare away this mountain lion. They could easily take the little bear, right?
This cub, terrified, cries out, growls, snarls at this mountain lion. Then you see the scene in the movie. The mountain lion looks scared and turns and runs away. Then the camera view pans back and you see that behind the cub is this massive male grizzly bear on his hind legs.
That's Exactly What Jeremiah Is Talking About
That's exactly what Jeremiah is talking about here. The fear is dispelled. There's no reason for fear—not because of some strength in us, but because when God draws near, He is, what does the Bible say? He is the Almighty. God is the Most High.
What are you afraid of right now? It's probably something today. Or there will be something tomorrow that you are afraid of. The same God that drew near to Jeremiah in that rubble of Jerusalem—He will draw near to you and dispel that fear.
Remember Lamentations chapter 3, verse 57: "Yes, You came when I called; You told me, 'Do not fear.'"
