Series
Rev. Jerry Hamstra
The Book of Esther
The Book of Esther
Sermons
Rev. Jerry Hamstra
Introduction to Acts
Introduction to Acts

Lament

The Dark Night of the Soul

“This passage shows us that life can be very hard for the people of God. Sometimes it is easy and pleasant. But sometimes it is very hard. It can be hard for various reasons. But there will be times in our lives when we may have trouble believing a lot of what God says to us in his word about working everything together for good and being a just and a loving and a compassionate God. So that is one thing that this passage shows us. This is the word of God and the word of God is showing us that sometimes the people of God have a very hard time reconciling what the Bible says about God and what their experience of life or their observation of life seems to be saying about God. We can sometimes experience the dark night of the soul where we question God and his ways with us or with the world in general and see life as pointless and not worth living.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

The (Apparent) Futility of Life

“These verses draw out the implications of life under the sun if God is not in the picture. But they also describe what life can look like for believers when they feel that God’s way with the world does not make sense and that life seems to be nothing more than pain and futility.”
— Rev. Jerry Hamstra