I LOVE the experience, getting all gussied up, eating at our favorite restaurant, traveling to the big city, visiting the theater, reenacting our own rendition of Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town! I especially enjoy the escapade when one of our favorite, old-time musicals is being performed. Modern theater is certainly far removed from the performances that graced the stage during the Middle Ages, stages that were not equipped with the high-tech lighting with which we have become accustomed. The stage was lit by way of candles, and those candles had to be trimmed regularly during the performance in order to maintain an acceptable quality of lighting. A break in the performance was necessary to afford an opportunity to trim, or to change out those candles. While the candles were being tended, vendors would come and sell their wares to the audience to discourage anyone from leaving before the performance was complete. Thus, intermissions became part of the theatrical experience. When movies arrived on the scene, those intermissions would be a necessary break to change those old classic reels, while providing the audience an opportunity to stretch, use the restroom, and grab a snack.
Did you know that the word intermission can be found in the Bible? Would you be surprised to learn that an Old Testament prophet yearned for an intermission? Jeremiah was deeply moved by the destruction of Jerusalem. Misery had fallen upon its inhabitants and the entire city “weepeth sore;” no one was left to attend “the solemn feasts,” her gates were “desolate,” and “her priests” sighed. “For these things…” Jeremiah would “weep,” his tear-stained eyes expressing the sadness and grief deep in his soul. This weeping prophet was not weak, but simply overwhelmed with the tragedy unfolding before him, “the destruction of (his) people,” the chastisement of a holy God that they were experiencing. There was no pause in his grief, no chance to regroup, as he states: “Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.” There was no intermission in the tragic chain of events, no ceasing, no relaxation, no pause.
Have you been in his shoes, so weary from tears that you longed for an “intermission?” Are you in a valley of struggle that seems to have no end? Have you lifted your hands toward Heaven begging your gracious Father for a reprieve, a break. Grief and pain may seem unending, but God’s mercy and grace lasts forever. In the midst of his tears and weeping, Jeremiah boldly proclaims “The LORD is my portion…therefore will I hope in him…for the LORD will not cast off forever.” Jeremiah found his comfort in the Blessed Hope, his Father and God, a God Who keeps His promises to His children. Be encouraged, your weeping may be sore at the moment, you pain may be deep, but joy WILL COME in the morning! Find comfort in the LORD, your portion.
Psalm 30:5 …weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Lord, when the night seems so long, when my eyes are swollen with tears, remind me that Your grace will sustain and keep me. Help me to see my tears in the light of the hope that I have in You.