How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!
Lamentations 1:1
The Book of Lamentations is full of travailing over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians.
In the moment, all hope seems lost. There is nothing left. Only destruction, punishment, and ruins.
Every prophecy of the Old Testament prophets had finally come to pass. The wrath of God was poured out. This is what the unbridled anger of God looked like. Ruins.
Though Jeremiah lamented in the moment, he would not know that 70 years later, Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
In the moments of our desperation, it can seem like all hope is lost. But God has a greater plan for me and you. There is hope on the horizon. There is a future in our life. We may not be able to see it – but God can and will show us the future. We just need to be patient and wait.