Poor Jeremiah! His ministry was smack dab in the middle of political, moral, and religious decline, accompanied by the Babylonian exile; No wonder he’s called “the weeping prophet!” His eyes are described as a fountain of tears and he weeps day and night (Jeremiah 9:1). He even laments, “Oh, that I could go away and forget my people” (9:2a, NLT). Jerusalem’s godlessness has tempted Jeremiah to leave it all behind! But he tenaciously hangs on to the assignment given to him by God, declaring judgement on Judah. Their city has been shattered, yet they refuse to learn their lesson. Death, doom and gloom were all around them. You can imagine, Jeremiah was not well liked!

“For they are all adulterers—a pack of treacherous liars. My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot out lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. They only go from bad to worse. They do not know me,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:2b-3

So, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies sends out a message: Call for the mourners! Send for the women who are professional mourners, those hired for mourning at funerals (9:17-18). And women, “Teach your daughter to wail; teach one another how to lament” (9:20).

When’s the last time you lamented over your sins or the sins of our nation? Do you confess your sins on a regular basis? Have you taught your children the importance of repentance?

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 

1 John 1:9

Cry Out! is a call for the mourning women. It’s an urgent invitation to come to the Lord with repentant hearts, burdened by the pain of our nations, and to cry out to God for mercy. (Cry Out! Challenge, Day 26)