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During this pandemic we have experienced a variety of losses. Many have lost income or lost your jobs. Some have lost some savings. We have all lost normal life. Some workers have lost the camaraderie of working side by side with colleagues. Some have lost loved ones – to the virus or to other causes. We have lost our normal grieving rituals of funerals and receiving other’s sympathy in person. Some have lost their wedding ceremony and graduates have lost their graduation ceremonies. Others may not have felt much loss in the last 5 weeks but still carry the wounds of some loss earlier in life.

So how do we reconnect with God when we experience loss and hopelessness? The writer of the Biblical book of Lamentations shows us the way. He lived through the siege of Jerusalem and saw his people suffer. He then saw the city fall and destroyed. So he shared in the national loss as well as his own personal loss. But through Lamentations, he shows us the path to reconnect with God.
First he laments or grieves his losses before the Lord. He describes how he feels and honestly shares his perspective. Somehow, this clears the fog in his thinking. Then he moves on to the second step which starts in Lamentations 3:21

21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”

The second step involves calling to mind the goodness of God. The writer gives us four reasons for hope in these verses even for those who have lost everything.

1. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
2. His mercies never come to an end.
3. The Lord’s faithfulness is great.
4. The Lord is his portion.

That last one was significant because in the Old Testament, “portion” often meant land. When Jerusalem fell, most surviving residents lost their land or “portion.” But even though they’d lost everything, they still had the Lord.

So when find ourselves or someone near to us at a loss and moving toward hopelessness, let’s follow this path. First, lament or grieve your losses before the Lord. Then recall the goodness of God. I pray this will give you hope and courage to keep going in your day.

“Lord God, thank you for bearing with our desperate cries during times of loss. Thank you for deep love and promised to heal the broken-hearted. Help us to have the courage to face our losses and grieve them. Then remind us of all the reasons for hope we have because you remain with us.”