Seeking God's kingdom through lamentations

One of the two Discovery apple trees Miriam and I planted in a church garden in Longsight, Manchester in 2018
(Photo credit: Jane G.)

Soon before we moved out of Manchester, the church we had been serving in gifted us with money to buy fruit trees. Now that we have a garden, and now that the season for planting new trees has arrived, at last we have ordered them: a Discovery apple, a Charles Ross apple and a Blue Tit plum tree. They're supposed to arrive sometime in mid-November, though we don't know when. Soon, I need to dig holes and fill them with horse manure -- but it's still a little early for that. For now, all we can do is wait.

To a small degree, waiting for the trees reminds me of waiting for the kingdom of God. Like the trees, we don't know when the kingdom of God will come, but we wait for its arrival and the life and joy it will bring. 

Last week, I wrote that we are called to become signs of God's kingdom. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that this week I have been thinking about a passage in the Gospels where Jesus says, 'Seek first the kingdom of God, and [your daily needs] will be given to you as well' (Luke 12:31; Matt. 6:33). 

There are many ways we can seek God's kingdom, but today I want to illustrate such an orientation through a passage from the book of Lamentations. 

The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah, it is believed, in about 587 BC, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Israelites were taken to Babylon in captivity. 

The passage below is the high point of the book, at the heart of five laments that describe Israel's destruction and destitution. Here, Jeremiah remembers the compassionate faithfulness of God, looking forward in the hope of God's salvation:

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.'

The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly 
for the salvation of the LORD.

Lamentations 3:19-26

I have much to learn from these words about seeking God's kingdom. But first, the question may arise: how can we compare our situation today with Israel's defeat? For Israel, children and babies were strewn about the streets (2:11), women ate their own children to survive (2:20), those who were once wealthy became destitute and homeless (4:5), and it became normal that women were violated, authorities were humiliated and young men were forced into harsh labour (5:11-13). 

Though for many of us, today's situation is not as devastating as Israel's was, the pandemic has still brought our world much suffering. Not to mention those infected and dying from the disease, the knock-on effects include people losing work, being alone, not having practical support and feeling hopeless. This past week, some UK news articles have featured the deterioration of mental health among children, university students and inmates, to name a few examples.

I think Jeremiah teaches us that we need to grieve -- and that in the midst of our grief, we must hope in God's kingdom. We must remember that God will save us from this pandemic. 

We don't know what the short-term future holds. We may become infected with the virus; we may even die of it. We may, like Jeremiah and the Israelites, lose our possessions, honour and identity. But even if so, we must remember that in the big picture, in the long-term future, God's kingdom is coming to save us, even from suffering and death.

I'm not saying we shouldn't help those in our lives who are vulnerable; this is required of us. Nor am I saying we shouldn't trust scientists and doctors; I believe God uses their knowledge and work for our healing. 

But we also have to learn to wait, to be still and return to God. 

As I wait for the three fruit trees, I focus more on the garden. The more I anticipate their arrival, the more important they become for me. Similarly, the more we wait for God's kingdom, the more it becomes a priority for us. This can embolden and prepare us to do the life-giving work God has for us to do, both in the future and in the present (I have written an introduction to this life-giving work here). 

Perhaps through lamenting and putting our hope in God, COVID-19 can be a tool for our salvation, turning us away from our passions and redirecting us to seek first the kingdom of God; or in Jeremiah's words, this crisis is an opportunity to remember God's great love, compassion and faithfulness, and to turn back to God and wait quietly for his salvation.

Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return. (Lam. 5:21)