What to Remember When You Hit Bottom, Part 1

It's a victory for Satan.

When our feelings plummet in the dark places he wins. When hopelessness prevails today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll teaches from the book of Lamentations is here we find the prophet weeping over the destruction of Jerusalem.

The parallel to our times is clear.

Many of us have shed tears when we witness urban centers undersea the insidious coronavirus, striking fear, global economy teetering. It's no wonder many of us feel discouraged, but hope is on the horizon today as Chuck identifies what to remember when you hit bottom.

I don't need to tell you, these are tumultuous time really I would call them treacherous.

On occasion, devastating, troublesome, worrisome so much as out of our hands. We watch the news and we feel helpless reveal more than that, but helpless to step in. We long for there to be will stillness peace a sense of tranquility, but there isn't. In fact there really will be in the world around us. It must be found within us myopic today as we gather array of hope from Jeremiah's words and Lamentations 3 and a touch of peace will return along with a good measure of hope and anticipation of what God may be doing around us and equally important within us. Lombardo is open to Lamentations 3 I want to read a few excerpts from this fine chapter in which you will find some of your favorite verses, though again, you may not have known where you could put your finger on them. You'll see today where they are. I'm reading from the new living translation.

Your Bible will read in a similar way.

Follow along as we stand together for the reading of God's word. I am the one who is seeing the afflictions that come from the rollout of the Lord's anger.

He has led me into darkness, shutting out all line he is turned his hand against me again and again all day long. He has made my skin and flesh grow old is broken, my bones. He is besieged me, surrounded me with anguish and distress. Verse 20 I will never forget this awful time. As I grieve over my loss yet I still dare to hope when I remember this, the faithful love of the Lord never ends his mercies never cease great is his faithfulness to his mercies begin afresh each morning, I say to myself, the Lord is my inheritance. Therefore I will hope in him, and finally verse 55. Toward the end. Verse 55 I call on your name Lord from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, listen to my pleading for my cry for help. Yes, you came when I call you told me do not fear to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll.

Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.org/studies another message titled what to remember when you hit bottom. I hope someday you can go to Switzerland and when you do, don't. Don't miss Geneva, Geneva, that lovely city.

And when you're in Geneva. Take time to be with Jeremiah. He's waiting there silently and when you are with him.

Listen just be still remember his life and listen you will find his statue in in in the square not far from John Calvin's church and and not that far from John Knox Auditorium for the two of those men get this in the 16th century priests like prophets in Geneva heard truth like it had never heard before.

Their words came from a pain filled past they have been unappreciated and mistreated. But before Knox returned to his homeland Scotland to lead the Reformation and before Calvin was gone. The two of them had plenty to say both of them from the Scriptures. I've been there and I've I've stood under the gaze of Jeremiah.

He's on the pedestal shrouded in a dark cloak in the timeless gaze, looks right down on you.

I was there virtually alone and I remember saying other things, but especially thank you. I wasn't talking to his statue I was talking to the man who lives in my mind and in our smell, who had been through so much for four decades. Don't miss that decades. Jeremiah held forth faithfully as a man of God speaking to people who didn't want to hear what he had to say and they told him so. They resented him they rejected him.

They even imprison him on occasion they shoved him aside, they pushed him back then ignored his message.

He told them with warning you're heading for devastation are suitable for all the enemy is preparing these coming they wanted nothing to do with his message they want to listen to false prophets and think preacher fully priests who told him everything was fine is five Jeremiah knew better and he told them so. I often use Jeremiah when I speak to young men and women training for ministry nearby Dallas seminary.

What is my privilege to speak in the chapel.

I will on occasion not to discourage them but to bring back some reality. Remind them that not all congregations are smiling and friendly and generous. Not all the saints are kind to God's messengers, not all places are easy to serve you mighty cauldron. One of those settings learn some things from Jeremiah learn the value of speaking the truth regardless being ready in season and out of season reproving and rebuking and correcting and instructing with great patience because the time has come when there will be many who will not want to hear the truth and they'll be looking for fads getting there ears tickled hearing what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear well. Jeremiah did what he should've done and as a result, you know by now 586 BC. The city of Jerusalem fell the Babylonians. See, they destroyed the temple of Solomon with a devastated the buildings and the Beautiful Pl., Jerusalem, the city of Zion lay in ruins and then they marched off the best of the city. The people who could take that 700 mile walk to Babylon, and they left the infirmed, the broken, the aging, among them Jeremiah who walks through the rubble and sees the bloated bodies in the streets and witnesses the starving children running free without their mother's and dad's.

They were taken into exile. The Babylonians didn't care about those kids M*Jeremiah season all, not only before the fact is his prophecy reveals 451 chapters but when it falls. Chapter 52 and on into his Lamentations.

I called in his journal of wall is so sad he's thinking again and again if they would have listened if all they would have needed what I had to say. But alas, look at this, look at this is an interesting God preserved Lamentations for all of us to read so many years later as many of our cities are going through terrible times you seen it, so if I you wonder what's next is you turn on the set, and it may be even worse than it was yesterday, we turn to Lamentations and we realize that there's a limit there's a limit to God's patience and there's a limit to his grace and we wonder if her getting near that of all things, along with all of it comes a virus sweeps its way not only across Asia but ended our country and then beyond into Europe and now it's worldwide, it's even on the rise. From time to time you go. What's next, Jeremiah gives us the words I want to seen afflictions chapter 3 verse one I've seen afflictions that come from the rot of the Lord's anger is lead me in the darkness shorting out all lights.

He's turned his hand against me again and again all day long. He's made my skin and flesh grow old he's broken my bones is besieged me and surrounded me with anguish and distress buried me in a dark place, like those long did this man is at the bottom finally reach bottom you been there. I've been there on previous occasions we've all been there. In fact, this is a this is the third chapter of a heartbreaking elegy recorded by Jeremiah, who with his own eyes. Season with his old man writes of all this that is happening around him. I don't know what version of the Bible you're using. I as I said earlier, using good new living translation and get this on 1718 occasions verse after verse after verse begins with he has. He had he had he had he had meaning God has God has Jeremiah driving home the point. We briefly and just a few ideas let me in the darkness. He is turned his hand against me.

He has made my skin and flesh grow old is broken, my bones. He has besieged me and surround me with anguish.

He is buried me in a dark place. He is wall me in. He is bounding and heavy chains. He is shot out my prayers.

He has blocked my way, he is made. My road crooked.

He is head like a bear or a lion, he is dragging me off the paddle on and on and on. He has he has. He has has. I know I know this monotonous anguish gets monotonous heartbreak. Skip monotonous. Let me tell you the dangerous part of it all.

If you're not careful, we begin to entertain alien thoughts, please hear me. Unlike Jeremiah's audience. Please heed hear and heed my words when all this begins to happen you move into a realm of hope, less mass to dangerous place to be. I call it dangerous because that is where our adversary lives for us to be when you lose hope it wasn't what I preacher loses. Oh, he applauds 20 years is saying things like, I've hit bottom. Because he knows at that point, it is easy to make satanic choices. It is easy when we are at the bottom to have alien thoughts and come to wrong solutions and begin to feel fear that makes us want to hide and panic that makes us want to run and I'm going to go and say it and to put an end to our lives, which is the adversary's desire for every one of us never doubted the want you to take your life.

What makes it interesting is that those who do are invariably alone. There are not group suicides. Not that often.

"But not that often using the individual has wound up narrowing life and narrowing it narrowing it until self-pity takes charge and now in this hourglass tiny squeeze is alone and that's when the thought hits :-) out as heartbreaking.

Some of you have lived through it with a loved one in your left with this dreadful reality that she took her life repeated. Let me back off from that ticket will breath here in and say a further word about self-pity that leads to it.

I turned to my friend David Roper who has written a burden shared fine little book from it. I have found these words listen to Roper to resist the pain is to miss the purpose of it right away. There's a lot of wisdom there. We want to run from pain. Wait wait wait to resist pain is to miss the purpose of it. We must not feel sorry for ourselves. He goes on.

Self-pity is deadly and demonic is the evil one's way of stalling us into introspection and inertia.

There is no place for giving up suffering isn't fatal. Our eternal destiny isn't riding on our circumstances. A love that line Koran what people do or say, our security is not based upon any of that is based upon our Lord's acceptance and his word. Someday our Lord will return to gather us in and heels once and for all of all our terrible wounds. In the meantime, we must not waste our pain.

I get this closing line suffering promotes counsel, we could not otherwise give them messages we could not otherwise deliver head. I've never known pain.

I would have no message for you today and I succumb to pain and taken my own life, you would not have anyone here today to speak.

You have someone you wouldn't have me but from the pain of my past and it certainly is not as deep as many. I acknowledge that, but it's been deep at times God is given a message. He's given counsel, and there may be some wisdom in it that came from the pain because I didn't succumb to self-pity. I live through it and I said to the Lord guide me use this pain to give me insights I would not otherwise have risen me anything.

Anyone who goes through times of pain.

Roper ends with a very moving bit of verse listen closely.

Life is not as idle or let iron dog from central gloom and heated hot burning fears and dipped in bad's of hissing teachers and battered by the shocks to to shape and to use profound statement. Jeremiah offers a far better option than self-pity. I'm pleased to say when you hit bottom.

You remember something important you're going to pull out of the self-pity.

Jeremiah is our model.

He does that very thing. Look, if you will, beginning at verse 19 and concentrate okay.

Let's all concentrate before my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words so is at the bottom. Admittedly is no place to look, but I look at what he does. He looks up I will never forget this awful time. As I grieve over my loss yet I still dare to hope. Love those those words in verse 21. I still dare to hope at the bottom of come to the pit of my life devastation is all around me.

I dear to hope when not remember this okay. Many women this is what we remember when we come to the bottom. Verse 22. I remember the Lord's loving kindness never ends.

This is a tough place to hit pause on this message from Chuck Swindoll. Jeremiah has come to a point of despair and I'm supposing many who hear these words today can identify with hopeless moments when nothing seems to adequately express our anguish other than the tears we shed your listening to Insight for living and check title today's message what to remember when you hit bottom and alert you to listen again next time as Jeremiah's story unfolds.

If you missed any portion of Chuck's teaching.

Remember, you can listen to previous programs it. Insight world.org, or download our app to your mobile device. In light of today's heavy subject. Let me put you to an uplifting book.

Chuck's written it'll remind you that the Lord's loving kindness never ends is called encourage me, caring words for heavy hearts this book from Chuck contains two parts. The first section is for those who need encouragement. In the second part urges us to be encouragers and to purchase a copy of encourage me by Chuck Swindoll. Go to Insight.org/offer.

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