READ: Lamentations 5:21
Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.
When it comes to movies, people prefer happy endings. We want to see the husband kiss the bride, the hero win their quest, the enemy defeated, and the fireworks sparkle over the castle. It’s human nature to crave closure after conflict. This is why happy endings make us smile, and tragic ones make us cry.
Lamentations does not give us the conventional happy ending we crave. This book was written while they were still in the process of grieving. Rebuilding had not begun. Rescue missions were still underway. Reality was still hard to recognize. Jeremiah does not conclude, “we lived happily ever after.” Instead, his conclusion was a little more relatable. Jeremiah prayed for God to restore them and renew them. He was looking for future hope, not present happiness. Jeremiah knew that promise was on the other side of a process.
At the end of the fourth poem, we read, “Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion” (4:22). These words shimmer like a gemstone in the mud. The poet essentially expresses, “things will get better. Just hold on.” Five hundred years after the destruction of Jerusalem, things got a lot better. An unlikely hero was born in a stable in Israel. Jesus, from the tribe of Judah, was the source of renewal and restoration they needed. It was so much bigger than Israel. Jesus renewed and restored the entire world. Jesus reconnected the God of the universe to humankind. Talk about renewal!
Please hear this. Your trial is not final. God will renew and restore. We can be confident that things will get better because God is working on our behalf. With God, nothing will remain broken forever. Jesus will restore you. Jesus will renew you. Whatever you are experiencing right now, know that it will get better.