READING: Lamentations 3:37-5:22
I suppose we could debate all day whether God is about to bring judgment on America. I’ve heard for months that perhaps God is abandoning our nation, allowing us to elect whichever President we like, and preparing us through this process to send judgment on our nation. That language may be only political season language, but it likely goes without saying that God is increasingly frustrated with America. When I read the stories of the sins of the nations of Jeremiah’s day and compare them to contemporary America, the overlap is sometimes frightening.
But then I read words like those in today’s text, and I hear the speaker in Lamentation 3 seriously grieving over the sins of the people of God and the destruction of Jerusalem: "My eyes flow with rivers of tears because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. My eyes will flow without ceasing, without respite, until the LORD from heaven looks down and sees . . . .” (Lam 3:48-49). The speaker genuinely hurt over the sins of God’s people and the corresponding judgment — so much so that his tears poured like rivers. He would weep, in fact, until the Lord looked from heaven and answered his prayers. It’s not a surprise, then, that much of the last chapter of Lamentations is the community’s cry for restoration: “Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!” (Lam 5:21).
I evaluate my own prayer life in that light, though, and I realize some deficiencies. I complain about America’s direction more than I intercede about it. I’m more frustrated with where we are than I am broken by it. I talk more about political solutions than about prayerful interventions.
I can’t remember the last time I wept over our nation’s direction. Perhaps I, like the writer of Lamentations, would weep more after God’s judgment falls — that is, after God’s wrath falls on America — but that’s a late time to start weeping. My Bible reading of the prophets and Lamentations should remind me that God does not tolerate sin, either among His people or among their enemies. It should drive me to weep and pray now on behalf of American believers and for our country overall. If it doesn’t, my Bible reading becomes information transfer rather than life transformation.
And, that’s completely missing the point of Bible reading.
ACTION STEPS:
- Pray for American believers throughout the day. Pray especially for our church and denominational leaders — those who pave the way for others.
- Ask God to change your heart so you intercede for the nation with passion and grief if you don’t already.
PRAYER: “God, forgive me. Bring me to grief over the state of our country.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Ezekiel 1-4
