Thursday, 23rd December 2021
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-18 God’s Rod of Wrath
V1 ‘I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His wrath.’ We would have a lot of complaints about our lives, but do we believe that God’s rod is with us out of love? If God loves us, then why will He let bad things happen to us? We must learn how to see things from God’s perspectives. If we focus too much on how we feel, then we can never see the problems in our lives. Why would our relationship with people break up? Why would we struggle in our finance? Why would our health have issues? Because we cannot hear the heartbeat of God, we only see what we expected to see and what we don’t have; we put ourselves first, and we don’t see God’s rod guiding us.
When we are sad, angry, or distressed, do we see the cross? Or do we just see our own misery? God already promised to be with us wherever we go. So, when we face challenges in our lives, He will not let us deal with it alone. Our sins make us afflicted, but God’s rod will guide us out of the difficult path, but only if we are willing to stop focusing on ourselves and focusing more on God. On the other hand, if we can see blessings out of disaster, then we can also influence the people around us, and draw God’s presence to be with us wherever we go.
Section Two V19-39 God is Real
When God hold up His Rod of Wrath, then we can see how real our God is! When we do not receive what we ask for, no matter how hard we try, then we should let go and know that there must be a reason behind everything happens to us. God is always with us, and He is always guiding us with His Rod of Wrath. Are we willing to see hope in difficulty? V25 ‘The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.’ There will be grace in our difficult situations, but do we see this grace, or do we continue to see problems?
V26 ‘It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.’ What is inside our heart will reflect in how our faith is. God created the world because of His good Will, but do we really believe in it? We choose what we believe in; with love and trust, then we can see God will never forsake us. Do we believe God is there? Do people see our God in our lives? The peace inside us cannot fool anyone. When we really know He is our Shepherd, then we will lack nothing.
V29 ‘Let him put his mouth in the dust—There may yet be hope.’ There are also a lot of people, who hide their emotions and hide their problems. They seem calm in front of people, they tell others that they don’t need help, but inside their heart, they are afraid, and they are lacking. Can we come boldly and honestly in front of God? The Bible does not tell us that we will have a smooth life, but God will be with us no matter what. We need to trust Him and open up to Him. When we face problems and difficulties, do not try to avoid them, but to overcome them by the strength of God. It’s just like children learning to walk, they often learn from falling, but their joy of being able to walk is irreplaceable. If we never let children fall then they may never learn to walk!
V31-33 ‘For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.’ God is watching over us, He is always there for us, but when we see our hardship bigger than God, then we will not see God. We will then choose to live in our own misery and feel sorry for ourselves, instead of letting God’s helping hand to lead us out of troubles.
Section Three V40-66 God Vindicates
God wants us to return to the way He first created us to be. He has Good Will for each one of us, but the world led us astray. When we understand God’s heart, then we can come closer to God and become more like the image God has created us. V40-42 ‘Let us search out and examine our ways,
And turn back to the Lord; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned.’ Do we believe God is there?
耶利米哀歌 3 – 人的软弱 神的真实
2021年12月23日 星期四
潘锡安牧师
神要借着本章的经文跟我们说一些话。在2021年的年尾，我们不知道2022年会发生什么事情，正如过去我们也不知道今年会发生封城之类的事。我们去思想，就会越来越明白神的心意，用心领受，才能听到神对我们说的话。
一、耶和华愤怒的杖 v.1-18
V1 我们要先知道自己的身份。“杖”表明神对我们就像父母用“杖”管教儿女一样。没有一个管教不是出于爱。我们的父母或许过去处于怒气而管教我们，但他们的本意是爱我们，没有放任我们不管。我们被管教后，常会记得当时身体的痛和情感上的受伤，却没有明白父母希望帮助我们的用意。耶利米先知在这里教导我们，当我们经历很多无法明白、备受委屈的事情时，很多时候是出于“耶和华愤怒的杖”，但我们会抱怨神，说神不爱我们。
V4 我们生命中有很多问题，我们是否会问，神如果爱我们，为何让这些事发生在我们身上？第一段的经文讲了很多肉体和情感上的感受，但我们若能从中抽离，才能更深的看到自己生命的问题。我们觉得诸事不顺，因为我们只看到自己期待的东西，却无法听到神和我们权柄的心跳。我们自己的声音太大，只看到自己想要的东西，所以听不到神的声音，看到的也只是耶和华愤怒的杖 – 就是我们不想要的管教。
V14 别人会笑话我们说：“基督徒怎么还会这样? 神在哪里？”其实我们每一个都是蒙恩的罪人。很多时候我们都陷在情欲中，当负面的事情发生时，我们是要听神的，还是要神听我们的？在我们需要被医治释放、觉得羞愧的时候，我们是否看到十字架？诗篇23篇告诉我们：耶和华是我的牧者，他的杖他的竿都安慰我；虽然经过死荫的幽谷，他仍与我们同在，并在我们敌人面前为我们摆设筵席。当我们被伤害的时候，我们是否看到神？还是将自己放大，只看到被伤害，却看不到神。我们要看到自己不过是人，承认自己的软弱，虽然我们的身体、生活、人际关系等会出现问题，但我们是否在问题中仍然有一颗对神对人感恩的心？
当我们遇到困难和逆境时，仍要相信神是爱我们的。如果我们看到的只是耶和华的愤怒，心里就只有负面；但我们若看到神是我们的爸爸，我们才会明白他的爱。
二、神是真的 v.19-39
V19-21神没有让我们忘记这些事，因为想起过去神是怎样带领我们，“心里就有指望”。神将我们从困境中拯救出来，一定会为我们预备更好的在前面，只要我们不再留恋过去，将盼望单单放在神身上。当我们愿意放手、愿意交托给神的时候，我们就看到祝福。我们是否愿意在我们的困难和绝望中看到盼望？当我们相信神的时候，即使处在问题中，我们也能活出平安。
V25 面对问题，我们选择看到的是什么？我们如何以信心来回应不如意的事情？
V26 神看待他所造的一切都是好的。我们是否愿意静默等候神的救恩，还是活在别人的操控中？当我们爱神的时候，我们就能无论在什么样的光景下都信任他。我们是否让人看到我们的生命中有神？我们不要带着面具，压抑自己的情感，在人前假装说自己没问题，以为自己什么都能做。唯有我们承认自己的软弱，神才会在我们身上彰显他的平安，我们才会真正去经历神，别人也才看到我们的神。
V27 圣经没有说我们的人生会一帆风顺，反而说年轻时遇到问题、难处，这对我们的生命“原是好的”。
V29 圣经里常说的俯伏敬拜是指全身伏在地上。当我们“口贴尘埃”时，这表明我们愿意寻求神、向神祷告。我们的祷告是一个doing的模式，还是从祷告中得到平安，并愿意爱神、等候神？ 我们是否相信神，还是只把他当成精神寄托？
V32 神是真的，他是给我们怜悯的。
V33 我们的神不是虐待狂。我们若只看到负面的事发生在我们身上，是因为我们心里闭塞，被蒙骗了。
V34-37 神不会袖手旁观。我们是否相信神会出手？
V38 我们的困境不是神给我们的，我们的罪让自己被神愤怒的杖鞭打，唯有这样，我们才能回转。
三、神会申冤 v.40-66
V40 我们进入学房，如果只是去学知识，就很可惜。我们的学房是帮助我们的生命能够转回，恢复神创造的美好，自然就明白神的话 – 也就是神的心跳。跟从神不是方法，而是生命。
V41 向神呼求的，他就垂听。我们相信吗，我们愿意吗？
V50 我们愿意等候吗？愿意向他举手祷告，相信他是爱我们的吗？