Lamentations: When God Is SilentSample

Torn Down

The LORD determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion. (v. 8)

In the film Polish Wedding, a once-gentle husband flies into a jealous rage. His wife has just disclosed a deep betrayal as they stand together in the kitchen they carefully built together. In response, he tears down everything. When he’s finished, nothing stands between him and his beloved.

Following the exile, nothing of Israel’s former life stands intact. Jerusalem’s walls have been torn down; the temple is in ruins, and the culture and worship life of God’s people has been dismantled. There’s nothing left. Nothing, that is, but the people and their God. God has torn down everything that once stood between him and his beloved.

In life, God doesn’t guarantee that our ambitions will be fulfilled, that our cherished acquisitions will last, or even that our loved ones will outlive us. The only guarantee we have is that eventually, every earthly thing will be taken away. Sometimes it feels as though God does nothing but tear down.

Yet if we’re in Christ, one thing will always remain. When it feels like God is tearing down our carefully constructed walls, he may be opening a pathway toward deeper intimacy with him. Paul reminds us, “[Nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). As the dust settles, God’s love for us will still be standing. Let him hold you fast, no matter what else falls.

As you pray, ask God to draw you close during difficult times.