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Hang in there // Aguenta aí


So, Jeremiah didn’t go to Babylon, instead, he stayed in Jerusalem for while; then some of the people who had stayed wanted to go to Egypt; Jeremiah had told them not to go there because God had said so. They went anyway and took Jeremiah with them. But, in the meantime Jeremiah got depressed. This is my impression by reading the book of Lamentations. Who wouldn’t? He worked so hard to warn people to do what God had been saying for so long, but people just didn’t listen to him. And then he saw everything happening. All the destruction of Jerusalem, people being taken captive to Babylon. It is quite depressing to watch all that. Can’t you imagine? Some bad disturbing things happen in our country and we get sad, imagine your whole country and all the people being slaughtered and taken captive to another country!

Although Jeremiah knew that all those things would happen, because God had said it, still. Pretty sad, huh? I can’t imagine the size of his sadness, but he tried describing it through his diary called Lamentations. It looks like a journal to me. I have never felt that sadness in my life, even when I was depressed. This shows us that we are allowed to feel sad, even knowing that was God’s plan all along. The interesting part is that Jeremiah was sad, very sad, depressed even, but he knew the rest of the story. He knew that thing but couldn’t deny his eyes. Even knowing that the restoration would come, and he wouldn’t see it, but God had already told him. Then he wrote beautifully:

“I am the man who has seen affliction
    under the rod of his wrath;
2 he has driven and brought me
    into darkness without any light;
3 surely against me he turns his hand
    again and again the whole day long.

4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;
    he has broken my bones;
5 he has besieged and enveloped me
    with bitterness and tribulation;
6 he has made me dwell in darkness
    like the dead of long ago.
(...)
20 My soul continually remembers it
    and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
    and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
    to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he bears
    the yoke in his youth.
(...)
32 but, though he causes grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

You know, people have this weird dream about living a life with only peace and joy and no problems at all. This is a silly dream. No one will ever achieve that dream, not in this life. But you can live a life with peace and joy even with all the problems in it. If our hope is in the LORD because of He is faithful, He is good, his mercies are new every morning, He is good, and his steadfast love never ceases.

If we hope in Him, because of all His attributes, He is faithful, and His plans will work out just fine. As it says in verse 27 It is good for a man that he bears the yoke in his youth. We will pass through some or many hardships in life, we just have to hang in there knowing that God is good, compassionate, faithful, merciful and His love never ends.

Jeremiah’s depression nowadays we would be called the Major Depression; which is very serious. Many people in the Bible had some serious disease like depression among others, so many hardships in life, but most of them did not turn away from God, because if you know God’s attributes you have no better place to be than His presence. No better place to put your hope in than in Him.

We all go through bad stuff in life; verse 32 – though he (God) causes grief, he (God) will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Então, Jeremias não foi para a Babilônia; ele ficou em Jerusalém por um tempo; então algumas das pessoas que ficaram queriam ir para o Egito; Jeremias havia dito a eles que não fossem para lá porque Deus havia dito. Eles foram assim mesmo e levaram Jeremias com eles. Mas no meio tempo, Jeremias ficou deprimido. Esta é a minha impressão ao ler o livro de Lamentações. Quem não ficaria? Ele trabalhou duro para alertar as pessoas a fazer o que Deus vinha dizendo há tanto tempo, mas as pessoas simplesmente não o ouviram. E então ele viu tudo acontecendo. Toda a destruição de Jerusalém, pessoas sendo levadas em cativeiro para a Babilônia. É muito deprimente assistir tudo isso. Você não consegue imaginar? Algumas coisas ruins e perturbadoras acontecem em nosso país e ficamos tristes, imagine todo o seu país e todas as pessoas sendo massacradas e levadas em cativeiro para outro país!

Embora Jeremias soubesse que todas essas coisas aconteceriam porque Deus havia dito isso, ainda assim é muito triste, né? Não consigo imaginar o tamanho de sua tristeza, mas ele tentou descrevê-lo através de seu diário chamado Lamentações. Parece um diário para mim. Nunca senti essa tristeza na minha vida, mesmo quando estava deprimida. Isso nos mostra que podemos sentirmos tristes mesmo sabendo que esse era o plano de Deus o tempo todo. A parte interessante é que Jeremias estava triste, muito triste, até deprimido, mas ele sabia o resto da história. Ele sabia disso, mas não podia negar seus olhos. Mesmo sabendo que a restauração viria, e ele não a veria, mas Deus já havia dito a ele. Então ele escreveu lindamente:

" Eu sou o homem que viu a aflição
    trazida pela vara da sua ira.
2 Ele me impeliu e me fez andar na escuridão,
    e não na luz;
3 sim, ele voltou sua mão contra mim
    vez após vez, o tempo todo.

4 Fez que a minha pele e a minha carne
    envelhecessem
e quebrou os meus ossos.
5 Ele me sitiou e me cercou
    de amargura e de pesar.
6 Fez-me habitar na escuridão
    como os que há muito morreram.
(...)
20 Lembro-me bem disso tudo,
    e a minha alma desfalece dentro de mim.
21 Todavia, lembro-me também
    do que pode me dar esperança
:

22 Graças ao grande amor do Senhor
    é que não somos consumidos,
pois as suas misericórdias são inesgotáveis.
23 Renovam-se cada manhã;
    grande é a sua fidelidade!
24 Digo a mim mesmo:
    A minha porção é o Senhor;
portanto, nele porei a minha esperança.

25 O Senhor é bom para com aqueles
    cuja esperança está nele,
para com aqueles que o buscam
;
26 é bom esperar tranquilo
    pela salvação do Senhor.
27 É bom que o homem suporte o jugo
    enquanto é jovem.
(...)
32 Embora ele traga tristeza,
    mostrará compaixão,
tão grande é o seu amor infalível
”.

Você sabe, as pessoas têm esse sonho estranho de viver uma vida com apenas paz e alegria e sem problemas. Este é um sonho bobo. Ninguém jamais alcançará esse sonho, não nesta vida. Mas você pode viver uma vida com paz e alegria, mesmo com todos os problemas nela. Se a nossa esperança está no Senhor, porque ele é fiel, ele é bom, suas misericórdias são novas todas as manhãs, ele é bom, e seu amor inabalável nunca cessa.

Se esperamos Nele, por causa de todos os Seus atributos, Ele é fiel, e Seus planos darão certo. Como diz o versículo 27: É bom para o homem que ele suporta o jugo em sua juventude. Passaremos por algumas ou muitas dificuldades na vida, apenas temos que aguentar, sabendo que Deus é bom, compassivo, fiel, misericordioso e que Seu amor nunca acaba.

A depressão de Jeremias hoje em dia seria chamada de Depressão Maior, que é muito grave. Muitas pessoas na Bíblia tiveram doenças graves, como depressão, entre outras, muitas dificuldades na vida, mas a maioria não se afastou de Deus, porque se você conhece os atributos de Deus, não há lugar melhor para estar do que a presença dele. Não há lugar melhor para colocar sua esperança do que Nele.

Todos nós passamos por coisas ruins na vida; versículo 32 - embora ele (Deus) traga tristeza, ele (Deus) terá compaixão de acordo com a abundância de seu amor inabalável.




Dificuldades frequentenmente praparam pessoas normais para uma tarefa extraordinária. (C. S. Lewis)


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