HERE’S A WILD RIDE -- Pastor David Tsai

16He has broken my teeth with gravel; He has trampled me in the dust. 17I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” 19I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. 21Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:16-23, NIV)
One of my favorite rides in Disneyland is Space Mountain, a high-tech roller coaster. I first rode it in 1979 when my family had just moved to California. The twists and turns and drops of Space Mountain, which happened mostly in darkness, were thrilling for me as a teenager. Space Mountain was, and still is, a wild ride. The third chapter of Lamentations is also a wild ride. If you haven’t read it, consider yourself warned. The opening verses of chapter 3 include some of the most personal, painful laments of the whole book, “[The Lord] has broken my teeth with gravel; He has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is.” (Lam. 3:16-17). In utter discouragement, the writer confesses, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.” (v. 18). Then he adds, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.” (vv. 19-20). You just can’t get much lower than this!
But then, as the text rushes at full tilt toward utter despondency, we come upon a stunning change of direction. Verse 21 reads, “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” Wait! What? Hope? Where did hope come from? Lamentations has been utterly hopeless so far. But now? What? Hang onto your seats, for the shock has just begun. Following the shocking mention of hope, we read this: “The Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (vv. 22-23). One minute, the Lord has ground the teeth of the writer into the ground. The next minute, he celebrates the ceaseless love and endless mercies of God. Talk about a wild ride! Surely, this is one of the wildest rides in the whole Bible.

Have you ever experienced faith as a wild ride? Have you, for example, gone through times of joyful trust in God, only to be turned quickly into doubt and despair? Or perhaps you were sure God was calling you into a certain job or relationship, but for reasons that made no sense to you, what you anticipated didn’t work out. Do you ever find yourself praying like the man who said to Jesus, “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24)?
If you’ve been on that ride before, you know how crazy it can be. Perhaps you’re on that kind of ride right now. Or maybe you will be in the future. No matter when it comes, you should know that what you’re experiencing is common to God’s faithful people, like the writer of Lamentations, for example. You should also know that, no matter how wild the ride might seem, God is in control. God is utterly faithful and worthy of our trust. Therefore, we do not need to be afraid no matter how scary things might seem.
When I rode on Space Mountain over 40 years ago, I was not afraid. I did not feel even the tiniest bit of fear. Why not, even though I was hurtling through the dark? The answer is simple. I trusted those who had made Space Mountain. I knew that, no matter how unexpected and abrupt the turns might be, and even though I had no idea where I was heading, I would be okay. So, it is on the wild ride of faith. As crazy as it might be sometimes, we don’t have to be afraid because we know God is sovereign, and God’s steadfast love never ceases. God’s mercies never come to an end.

Thank You, Lord, for being with me always, even when I’m on the wild ride of life.
Help me to trust You even when I don’t understand You,
even when it feels as if my life is topsy turvy.