It's easy to believe that a traumatic event can be the end of your story. It often feels very much like the end. Tauren Wells' song, "God's Not Done With You," reminds us that God is not done writing your story. There are examples of this all over Scripture. Join me as we sit in a section of Scripture this week that is hard, yet hopeful. On this episode I discuss: Taking a B.I.T.E. out of Scripture - this week's Bible Interaction Tool Exercises include: Read in context Repetition Read in different translations Listen to epic music while reading Follow the cross references The abundance of wounds, scars, brokenness, hard things, and things that had absolutely fallen apart in the lyrics of our song AND in Lamentations How God is not absent in the midst of despair How Lamentations is a set of five acrostic poems of lament The literary devices found in Scripture -- specifically in Lamentations 1:1 The hard things to read in Israel's story vividly described in Lamentations - Lamentations 2:20-22 Following the cross-reference to 2 Kings 25:1-7 The comparison between the massacre in Jerusalem to the Holocaust or the Nanjing Massacre A traumatic story of my own - Lamentations 1:20 How, in our trauma, we might be as innocent as the children described in Lamentations or as guilty as the adults who rebelled against God Recognizing the warnings of God - Lamentations 2:17, Deuteronomy 28:15 Acknowledging responsibility - Lamentations 3:37-39 Examining our ways and turning back (repentance) - Lamentations 3:40-42 Hitting rock bottom and crying out - Lamentations 3:54-58 Understanding that naming, facing, and turning from our sin IS our salvation from false hope - Lamentations 2:14 Genuine hope is found in our Redeemer - Lamentations 2:20-26   Additional Resources Lyrics - Klove God's Not Done With You 10-Day Devotion Series - Bible.com This Week's Challenge Have I inspired you at all to take a crack at Lamentations? I hope so. There is great pain and sorrow to be found there, but there is great repentance and hope as well. I’ve only scratched the surface. I pray you allow God to meet you in your sorrow but, as in Lamentations, that you are honest in your sorrow. Read all five chapters and really give yourself a chance to process slowly -- chase down a few cross references for perspective while you’re at it.