Experiencing Rest In The Ruins

In the Book of Lamentations, Chapter Three, verses 21 – 24, the prophet Jeremiah is overrun and overwhelmed by ruin.  Exiled from his homeland and having to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land, he recalls the calamitous and catastrophic failure of a nation that had been destined for greatness.  He was taking this failure personally because it had happened on his watch.  He painfully laments the plight of the people.  The words in the text flow from the vortex of national and spiritual disaster.  But while he starts with ruin, he does not end there.  He chooses not to focus on the ruin but found rest, assurance; encouragement and comfort in his faith in God's faithfulness; this confidence became the basis of his hope in the present and for the future.  He experienced rest in the ruins.  You and I can too.  This sermon explores that possibility.