On November 14, 1703, England was battered by an unusual storm. “Featuring hurricane strength winds, the storm killed somewhere between 10,000 and 30,000 people. Hundreds of Royal Navy ships were lost to the storm, the worst in Britain’s history.
“The unusual weather began on November 14 as strong winds from the Atlantic Ocean battered the south of Britain and Wales. Many homes and other buildings were damaged by the pounding winds, but the hurricane-like storm only began doing serious damage on November 26. With winds estimated at over 80 miles per hour, bricks were blown from some buildings and embedded in others. Wood beams, separated from buildings, flew through the air and killed hundreds across the south of the country. Towns such as Plymouth, Hull, Cowes, Portsmouth and Bristol were devastated.”1
Modern weather detection methods were not available in 1703. Weather patterns could not be predicted as they are today. Evacuation warnings couldn’t be given, either. Without warning, the storm came, and the damage was done, leaving a nation devastated. But on this day in 1703, the storm finally ceased, and England was left to sort through the damage and begin rebuilding.
Lives could never be replaced, and it would take years to rebuild towns and homes. Some would never recover from the damage. Many would need to start over again with nothing to their name.
Are you being battered by an unusual storm? Did it hit you without warning? Are you
reeling from the devastation, wondering if you are going to be able to “go back home,” rebuild, or will you have to move on? Are you afraid?
Maybe your storm has passed, and you are assessing the damage. The overwhelming sadness and sense of loss is powerful. You feel as if you are under the pile of rubble and the weight of the tragedy is crushing. What do I do? Where do I go? How do I move beyond? Is there any hope or future?
It’s hard not to succumb to the weight of the moment. It’s hard not to allow despair to take over. We know how we are supposed to feel and react but knowing and doing are two different things. Jeremiah knows just how you feel!
Lamentations 3:1-8, 18 says, “I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. (2) He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. (3) Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. (4) My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones. (5) He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail. (6) He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old. (7) He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. (8) Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer…(18) And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD.” Verses 9-17 were a similar description of how Jeremiah was feeling. I omitted them for time and space but they are worth the reading. You just might hear something you’ve said or felt.
I love honest Bible characters! And I appreciate that God didn’t gloss over the very real, genuine feelings of a battered servant.
We might tend to think that Bible characters have got it all together and have no problems. We might think that they always have the right Biblical and spiritual answer. But that’s not the case. They had human feelings and emotions just like us. The storms have slammed into Jeremiah. He is discouraged and hurting and the Lord inspires the angst to be written for posterity.
As you read this today, maybe the storms have battered you and you’re not sure which way to turn. Allow Jeremiah’s conclusion to be your conclusion.
Lamentations 3:21-26, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. (22) It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. (23) They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. (24) The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. (25) The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. (26) It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.”
1https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/freak-storm-dissipates-over-england
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