Unbelievable
The kings of the earth did not believe,
nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
the gates of Jerusalem. Lamentations 4:12
It’s unbelievable.
This can’t be happening. No one for a moment imagined something like this was even possible.
It’s unbelievable.
How could something like this happen to someone like this?
It’s unbelievable.
He’s such a good person. He doesn’t deserve this.
It’s unbelievable.
She’s so lovely. This can’t be happening to her.
It’s unbelievable.
Everything was fine and then wham! out of the blue, this happened! It’s like being hit by a bus you didn’t see coming.
It’s unbelievable.
Look at what has happened to Jerusalem. God’s city. God’s people. They have been punished for turning away from God before, but never anything like this. No one ever believed God would allow something like this to happen to His people. The surrounding nations had witnessed God’s protection and deliverance of His people time and time again. Everyone had come to expect it. Everyone had relied on God’s love and mercy. They’d taken it for granted.
But this time, it was different. God had allowed His people to be scattered, lives to be lost, children to starve, the city to be destroyed. No one could believe it.
And who could they blame? Because when something unbelievable happens, we often feel the need to explain, to rationalise, to blame, to make sense of this horrific nonsense…
The people of Jerusalem desperately needed someone outside of themselves to blame. They blamed the priests and the prophets. For not warning them, for not keeping them straight, for telling them what they wanted to hear instead of the whole truth, for diluting God’s message.
But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
the blood of the righteous. Lamentations 4:13
The priests and the prophets have not been spared. Oh no. Not at all.
Now they grope through the streets
as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
that no one dares to touch their garments. Lamentations 4:14
No one has been spared. It’s unbelievable. Inconceivable. No one imagined that God would ever allow this.
The Lord’s anointed, our very life breath,
was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
we would live among the nations. Lamentations 4:20
No one is ever exempt from suffering. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to everyone. No one will ever be entirely spared. That is life.
That is why we should never ever take health and happiness for granted. None of us know what is around the corner.
God is love, yes, but for reasons far beyond our understanding, He allows really awful things to happen to all sorts of people.
We can rely on God’s love to see us through the bad times, but not to guarantee that there won’t be any bad times.
Because sometimes, the unbelievable happens.
