Scripture journaling
Lamentations 3:19-26
Many people turn to this passage when they are hurting and do not want to pretend otherwise. It begins with "the wormwood and the bitterness" and admits that the soul "is bowed down." Only after that honest naming does it turn: "This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope." That turn is why it suits a lament journal. You do not have to skip the sorrow to reach the hope.
The passage holds both together. It speaks of compassion that does not fail, of mercies "new every morning," and of learning to "quietly wait." If you are in a long, gray stretch, these verses can give you words for your grief and a small place to stand while you wait. Write slowly, and let your pages be a prayer.
19 Remember my affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the bitterness.
20 My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope.
22 It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.
23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
24 “Yahweh is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore I will hope in him.”
25 Yahweh is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Yahweh.
Reflection prompts
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Verse 19 asks God to remember "my affliction and my misery." What affliction would you like God to remember with you right now? Write it plainly, as a prayer, without tidying it up.
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"My soul still remembers them, and is bowed down within me." Where do you feel bowed down today? Describe what that heaviness looks like in an ordinary day: waking up, the middle of the afternoon, the last hour before sleep.
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In verse 21 the writer chooses what to call to mind: "This I recall to my mind; therefore I have hope." What is one thing you can recall today, even a small one, that gives you a thread of hope?
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Verse 22 speaks of compassion that "doesn’t fail." Write about a time you came through something you feared might consume you. What helped you keep going, and how do you see it now?
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"They are new every morning." Write a short prayer you could pray tomorrow before your day begins. What would you like to bring to God when the morning is still new?
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In verse 24 the soul says, “Yahweh is my portion.” What have you been leaning on as your portion lately? Write honestly about what it would mean to say these words for yourself, or why they feel hard to say right now.
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Verses 25 and 26 speak of waiting and of hoping as you "quietly wait." What are you waiting for in this season? Write about what quiet waiting might look like for you, and what makes it difficult.
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Using this passage as a pattern, write your own lament. Start by naming your sorrow as plainly as verses 19 and 20 do, then write toward whatever hope you can honestly find, even if it is only a few words.