Walking in Darkness

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Walking in Darkness

Date: Aug. 23, 2018

Passage

Lamentations 3:1-18 (ESV)

1   I am the man who has seen affliction
    under the rod of his wrath;
2   he has driven and brought me
    into darkness without any light;
3   surely against me he turns his hand
    again and again the whole day long.
4   He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
    he has broken my bones;
5   he has besieged and enveloped me
    with bitterness and tribulation;
6   he has made me dwell in darkness
    like the dead of long ago.
7   He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;
    he has made my chains heavy;
8   though I call and cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer;
9   he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;
    he has made my paths crooked.
10   He is a bear lying in wait for me,
    a lion in hiding;
11   he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;
    he has made me desolate;
12   he bent his bow and set me
    as a target for his arrow.
13   He drove into my kidneys
    the arrows of his quiver;
14   I have become the laughingstock of all my people,
    the object of their taunts all day long.
15   He has filled me with bitterness;
    he has sated me with wormwood.
16   He has made my teeth grind on gravel,
    and made me cower in ashes;
17   my soul is bereft of peace;
    I have forgotten what happiness is;
18   so I say, “My endurance has perished;
    so has my hope from the LORD.”

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 3:2

he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;

1. A man who has seen affliction (1-9)

After two chapters of communal laments, the laments in chapter 3 are personal. The author speaks of his own affliction. God has driven him away and he walks and dwells in darkness. Everywhere he turns, he sees and experiences bitterness and hardship. God is against him and does not answer his prayers. He suffers physically, emotionally and spiritually. The author feels that there is no escape from his suffering.

2. My splendor is gone (10-18)

Though the author once enjoyed peace and prosperity, God has now dragged him from that path. He has been mangled. He feels he is without help. His heart is pierced by God's arrows. He has become a laughingstock, mocked all day long. The author laments that God has trampled him in the dust. His pain and grief are so acute that he no longer remembers his former days of blessing. We feel the same when God removes his blessing from our lives. But when we repent and receive forgiveness in Christ, God restores his blessing.

Prayer: Lord, I walk in darkness without you. Forgive my sins and help me to walk in the light of Christ.

One Word: O Lord, keep me close to you

The Church in Antioch

Acts 11:19-30

Key Verse: 11:26

and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Today's Question

What is the reason for the fifth commandment?

See answer and references