How?

“How lonely sits the city that once had many people! She has become like a widow who was once great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a forced laborer … Judah has gone into exile.” – Lamentations 1:1, 3 NASB

The Hebrew title of the book of Lamentations is a word that means how. This same word begins its first, second, and fourth chapters. Even as Jeremiah, the author of this book, reflected on the plight of his people, his overriding question remained, “How did this happen?”

Jerusalem had been full of people but now sat lonely. Israel was “once great among the nations” but had become nothing but a “forced laborer” and “like a widow.” How had a people who had been chosen by God and given all His promises found themselves so forsaken?

God reminded Jeremiah, “the LORD is righteous,” but His people had “rebelled against His command” (v. 18). They turned their back on God. Consequently, they experienced rejection. He was no longer there to rescue them.

Yet God remained merciful. If they repented and confessed their sins, He was ready to forgive and restore them. But they still had to experience the consequences of their decisions and reap what they had sown.

You may wonder at times what has happened to you and ask why. Do you wonder how you have come to a particular point? Have things happened that you don’t understand?

If you find yourself asking how or why, commit your questions to God. Submit yourself to Him anew and commit your life to serving Him. Let Him reveal His truth to you and guide you.

Reflection Question: Write out your unanswered questions as a prayer for understanding.