Lamentations 3:19-26 – Overcoming the Spirit of Negativity

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Study of Lamentations 3 and Jeremiah’s anguish can help us develop greater confidence to overcome the negative spirit.

A World of Tribulation and Negativity

We live in a world where it just feels like we’re surrounded by so much negativity.  As I have grown a bit older, I have adopted that ol’ phrase, ‘if it ain’t one thing, it’s another’.  I’m pretty sure you’ve likely adopted that phrase and know it very well as well.  Yet, as a child of God, we aren’t supposed to be living with a spirit of negativity, are we?

No, the child of God is supposed to be a fruit-bearer, and the only way we can do that is with a spirit that is filled with hope and grace.  So, how do we get to that place where we are filled with much hope?  How do we overcome the spirit of negativity that is likely surrounding so many of us today?

In this week’s bible study, I want to share a few verses with you from the Lamentations of Jeremiah.  I am going to take a look at  Lamentations 3:19-26 and dive into the anguish of Jeremiah.  We will see that while he may have been in sorrow, we the prophet was still hopeful of a new morning.

Lamentations 3:1-18 – The Anguish of Jeremiah 

When we discuss people in scripture who ‘had it rough’, Jeremiah’s name is rarely ever mentioned.  Yet, prophets like Jeremiah, Elijah, and Ezekiel are definitely people who suffered much anguish in their lives.  

Jeremiah was ordained by God to prophesy to Judah (Jer. 1:4-10), the southern kingdom.    He’s nicknamed the “crying (weeping) prophet” because of his prophecy and because of the empathy he had for his people.  You see, God was set to judge those of Jerusalem for their sin and their refusal to repent.  

Jeremiah dealt with a spirit of negativity not only because of his prophecy but also because he was mocked and ridiculed by his fellow people (Jer. 20:7,10; Lam. 3:14).  The ridicule got so back that he tried to stop prophesying, but the word of God wouldn’t let him (Jer. 20:9).

Common anguish shared among believers

If you read from Lamentations 3:1-18, you will see Jeremiah speak about the great sorrow he found in ministry.  Throughout the passage, he laments about the affliction he had seen by the rod of God’s wrath (v.1).  Jeremiah lamented that God had aged his flesh (v.4), broken his bones (v.4), besieged him (v.5), pierced his loins with arrows from His quiver (v.13), filled him with bitterness (v.15), and moved his soul far from peace (v.17).

How many of us have ever felt like God has sent us down paths that have only caused us sorrow?  Trust me when I say that’s a feeling shared by many believers throughout scripture.  People like Job expressed similar feelings to Jeremiah.  Why is it that we feel such anguish and negativity in our hearts?

Diagnosis of Our Shared Anguish

One of the key points that we are going to focus on in this study about overcoming the spirit of negativity is going to be hope.  Hope is the engine that drives our faith, yet at the same time, hope can also break and shatter the soul if that hope is not finely tuned and adjusted.

Jeremiah’s sorrow during his years ministering to those in Jerusalem came from a place of wishing and hoping they would change and do better–that didn’t happen.  While that doesn’t sound bad, cal amity was set to fall upon them for certain, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.  God had told Jeremiah, “Out of the north calamity shall break forth on all the inhabitants of the land … I will utter My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness (Jer. 1:14,16).”

While it’s certainly understandable that he was empathetic toward his people, sadly, putting hope in them repenting was only wearying his soul.  I want to be clear, Jeremiah wearied his soul with misplaced hope.  Then, he further wearied his soul when he tried to stop prophesying.  This was something Jeremiah had to learn from.

For many of us today, we grieve our souls because of misplaced hope.  Many of us put hope into the dollar bill, our grind and hustle in the workplace, and into other people, just to name a few things.  This hope is misplaced because all of those things are fallible. 

The dollar bill is fallible in that it can’t buy true happiness.  The grind and hustle mentality is also fallible because it’s built around a system of worldliness, which again, won’t bring about true happiness.  Some of us put all our hope into our spouses, romantic partners, family, and friends, yet all of us are fallible.

We are all fallible, not simply in the sense of one being unfaithful, because many of us are capable of much faithfulness.  However, we are fallible in the sense that we are human and are limited.  We can’t always be there for each other as much as we would like to be.  We aren’t all-powerful. We will inevitably make a mistake because we aren’t perfect.

Putting all your hope into things or people who are fallible, with the expectation for them to be infallible, is simply not fair.  So, we must first learn to set proper expectations while also being able to accept that things won’t always go as we want or desire.  It is good to set a proper level of hope in fallible things so that said hope is not shattered, because broken hope will break the soul and cause much anguish.

If you’re going to put all your hope into anything or anyone, it ought to be the Lord.  This is something that Jeremiah would have to learn, and as we will see, he did learn.

Lamentations 3:19-20 – Jeremiah’s Resolve

In Lamentations 3:19-20, Jeremiah said to God, “Remember my affliction and roaming, the wormwood and gall.  My soul still remembers and sinks within me.”

In his sorrow, do you think Jeremiah was blaming God?  It would be hard for us to say that he was not blaming God.  As I referenced earlier, Jeremiah said directly to the Lord, “You have moved my soul far from peace (Lam. 3:17).”  I believe it’s pretty clear that Jeremiah blamed God!  

Now, the question is whether or not it was right for him to blame God for his anguish.  Do you think it is right for us to blame God for our sorrows?

Let’s be clear, when one blames God, one is saying that God has made a mistake.  We must keep in mind that God is righteous, and therefore, the Lord does not make mistakes.  The mistake is not learning from tribulation and growing in sorrow.  Keep that in mind as we move forward in this study.

A solemn prayer to the Lord

Now, with that in mind, I feel it is incredibly important that I point out to you that Jeremiah’s lamentations are prayers he made to the Lord.  As I mentioned earlier, Jeremiah was an empathetic person, and empathetic people tend to be very sensitive people, which is not a bad thing.  I have found that not only are empathetic people deeply attuned to the emotions and feelings of others, but they also wear their own emotions on their sleeves.

In his lamentations, we find that Jeremiah prayed very solemn prayers where he opened his heart to God and laid his soul bare before Him.  In other words, Jeremiah was of a contrite heart, not hiding any feelings or emotions from the Lord.  I truly believe that we need to break away from the typical prayer we pray every day and night and spend time talking more solemnly to the Lord.

Prayer was Jeremiah’s resolve against his spirit of negativity.  Today, many of us are trying to deal with our sorrow and depression by using techniques of worldly wisdom.  We try the ‘do something that will make you feel happy’ method, or we try prescribed/self-prescribed medication to help us deal with our anguish.  

Some are encouraged to consult medical professionals, which certainly should be done.  Yet, I would also add that we must start consulting God on a matter that is also spiritual!  Negativity, worry, anxiety, fear, and stress are wicked spirits–inner demons.  Trying to battle and defeat demons using only worldly resources will lead to defeat.  

To defeat demons, both external and internal, we need spiritual medicine that only God can provide.  So, learn to be more open to God, telling God exactly how you feel!  If you are hurting, describe that feeling of hurt to the Lord–tell God all about your trouble.  

God is here to help, not to be talked down to as if He is an enemy.  God is the greatest ally you will ever have in your battle to overcome the spirit of negativity.  Let us always keep that in mind.

Lamentations 3:21-24 – A Hopeful Mindset

With solemn prayer in mind, I will now turn our attention back to hope.  However, this time, I am going to focus on placing our hope in the right place.

In Lamentations 3:21, Jeremiah said, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”  What was it that Jeremiah recalled to his mind?  I believe Jeremiah remembered that God had told him that His thoughts were not evil towards him, but of peace and to give him a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11).

I believe that Jeremiah had learned, in those days when the people were mocking and ridiculing him, that God was with him.  You see, Jeremiah was always a prayerful man, and I believe he remembered that God listens.  Because he both remembered and knew that God listened, Jeremiah said that he had hope.  So, rather than misplacing his hope, Jeremiah’s hope was in the Lord!

In this solemn and contrite prayer, we’ll see, in Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah said, “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning,” adding, “Great is Your faithfulness.”

Jeremiah was not letting anguish rule over him, and neither should you.  You must attack negativity with a hopeful mindset.  I know that some of you will find that to be a bit cheesy, because many of us think so little of hope.  However, without hope, how would you even begin to pray your solemn prayer?

Here is where I remind you that hope is the engine of faith.  Paul wrote, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb. 11:1).”  You see hope in what God can do comes from what God has already done for us.  

In previous tribulations that caused us sorrow, God’s grace delivered us.  Remember, this was what Jeremiah had learned in the day that he was mocked and ridiculed.  Tribulation, the testing of our faith, James said, is what can help to increase our patience, making us even more confident in the Lord (Jas. 1:2-4).

Jeremiah had become a lot more patient through his ministry.  He even tells us in Lamentations 3:25-26, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him … It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation (deliverance) of the Lord.”  

When the walls of Jerusalem fell, yes, he was hurt, yet he wasn’t in despair.  The  Jeremiah from the day he was willing to stop prophesying would have given up, thrown in the towel, when the walls came down.  Yet, the Jeremiah that had prophesied for over forty years, knew that God would make a way.  

When of the more well-known and well-quoted verses in the bible was said by Jeremiah.  In Lamentations 3:24, Jeremiah said, “The Lord is my portion … Therefore I hope in Him.”  The confidence of knowing God is your portion and that He will make a way is truly the key to never letting a negative spirit rule over you.

So, if you take away anything from this study on overcoming the spirit of negativity, keep in mind that you should remain hopeful in God.  Keep in mind to solemnly pray to the Lord, laying your soul bare before Him.  Then, I want you to keep in mind to wait on the Lord, and in your patience and endurance, God will deliver you from your tribulation and negativity.