ESOCS Devotional 18 April 2024 – No One to Comfort
MEMORY VERSE: “But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.”Jeremiah 10:10
TEXT: LAMENTATIONS 1:1-11
How lonely sits the city
That was full of people!
How like a widow is she,
Who was great among the nations!
The princess among the provinces
Has become a slave!
2 She weeps bitterly in the night,
Her tears are on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers
She has none to comfort her.
All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;
They have become her enemies.
3 Judah has gone into captivity,
Under affliction and hard servitude;
She dwells among the nations,
She finds no rest;
All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits.
4 The roads to Zion mourn
Because no one comes to the set feasts.
All her gates are desolate;
Her priests sigh,
Her virgins are afflicted,
And she is in bitterness.
5 Her adversaries have become the master,
Her enemies prosper;
For the Lord has afflicted her
Because of the multitude of her transgressions.
Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.
6 And from the daughter of Zion
All her splendor has departed.
Her princes have become like deer
That find no pasture,
That flee without strength
Before the pursuer.
7 In the days of her affliction and roaming,
Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things
That she had in the days of old.
When her people fell into the hand of the enemy,
With no one to help her,
The adversaries saw her
And mocked at her downfall.
8 Jerusalem has sinned gravely,
Therefore she has become vile.
All who honored her despise her
Because they have seen her nakedness;
Yes, she sighs and turns away.
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts;
She did not consider her destiny;
Therefore her collapse was awesome;
She had no comforter.
“O Lord, behold my affliction,
For the enemy is exalted!”
10 The adversary has spread his hand
Over all her pleasant things;
For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,
Those whom You commanded
Not to enter Your assembly.
11 All her people sigh,
They seek bread;
They have given their valuables for food to restore life.
“See, O Lord, and consider,
For I am scorned.”
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
The declaration that stands out in this poem is that there is no one to comfort: “She has none to comfort her” (1:2); “She has no comforter” (1:9); “My eyes flow with tears for a comforter is far from me” (1:16); “Zion stretches out her hands but there is none to comfort her” (1:17); “They heard my groaning, yet there is no one to comfort me” (1:21). You will notice that in three of these instances (1:2, 9, 17) the author is referring to the lack of comfort for the city of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
In verse 7, utter helplessness is depicted. The city is in deep misery and all that is left to do is to remember the former days of happiness. This is what disaster and despair do to our lives. Our grief and our pain become so overwhelming that life seems helpless and hopeless. All one feels that they can do is remember the good days in the past, for it seems that there will be no more good days ahead. Verse 12 continues this thought where the question is asked if anyone has sorrowed more than them. This is also what intense grief does. The person feels like no one has gone through what you are going through. No one is sorrowful like me! No one is sorrowful like us! It is a time when we look and see the joy of the wicked and wonder why we are in agony while trying to be righteous. There is no one to comfort us.
Yes, it is nice to know that you have friends and family. Yes, it is wonderful to know that people care. But there is nothing that a person can do. When you are going through pain and grief, there are no words that can help. There are no quick fixes. There is no comfort. Not only is there no comfort, but those who you thought were your friends and helpers become enemies (1:2). Jerusalem speaks of those who were supposed to be her allies and supporters; yet, they have turned their backs on her. We put false hope in people. People are going to let us down. They cannot be our comforters because they do not have the power to do so. They cannot help. They are just as helpless as you are.
I have good news this morning: “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4 ESV). He is the comforter who will never leave us nor forsake us. Run to Him and live in testimonies.
- In times of despair, who do you turn to for succour?
- Father, let the Holy Spirit be my Comforter each time I need it.
Further Reading: 1 Samuel 5:1-7; John 14:1-11; Galatians 6:11-end
ESOCS Devotional 18 April 2024
