The road to Recovery

 Read Lamentations 5.

When Judah thought they were self-sufficient and felt no need for dependence on the LORD, they played.  But when they lost everything, they prayed.

This is the fifth acrostic, funeral poem for the city of Jerusalem.  Judah had fallen.  The devastation was beyond belief.  Jeremiah has cried ceaselessly (4:49).  Now, the attention turns from the earthly circumstances to the heavenly solutions. 

God remained in sovereign control.  He reigns from His throne on high forever (v.19).  Therefore, this appeal is to the One who can do what no one else can. 

1. Remember us. (vv.1-18)
They were overwhelmed by their disgrace and suffering.  Everyone-- young and old, male and female, leaders and poor--were physically and brutally mistreated.  The first thing requested in this prayer was for God to look and see what was happening to them.  The truth is the LORD sees everything, all the time (Proverbs 15:3).  Not only did He see and know, but He was the source of the punishment.  "Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities." (v.7) 

No one in their right mind enjoys pain and suffering.  But God can use such things to cause the rebellious to stop and consider their waywardness.  Godly sorrow should lead one to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).

2. Restore us. (v.21a)
All the celebrations and singing had stopped in Judah (vv.14-15).  How they longed for the joy to come back.  Notice that this is not a call for restoration of their circumstances, but a return to the person of Jehovah Himself.

When King David suffered the conviction and consequences of his sin, he prayed in Psalm 51:12, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation."  After repenting of sin and coming clean with God, the direction of the heart will go back to the basics.  The foundation of our relationship with the LORD is when and how He intervened in the first place to bring us to Himself.  Nothing restores our faith like going back to the cross and realizing the price Jesus paid on our behalf.  Being saved by His grace should prompt an immediate burst of thanksgiving and joy. 

3. Renew us. (v.21b)
There was no reason for God to restore and renew their material things until they dealt with their spiritual condition.  Otherwise, they would have simply returned to their rebellious self-sufficiency.  In Psalm 51:10, David prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."  When God forgives and cleanses our hearts, we are then in a position to live for Him.  The word "right" is literally "upright" or faithful.  This was what God wanted all along for Judah and wants for each of us.