The book of Lamentations portrays the people of Judah, God’s covenant people who were given the covenants and promises, but had now rebelled and disobeyed, breaking the covenant. For this reason God withdrew His hand of blessing; punishment, destruction, and judgment had come upon them, and under these conditions hope seems to have been lost, verse 18. Seeing the anger of the Lord against sin and the sinning people, experiencing the anguish of living in such an environment, sensing bitterness like gall and wormwood, caused Jeremiah’s soul to sink into despair. But then he remembers the Lord’s mercies, compassions, and faithfulness, which inspired him to hope, and cry out, “This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassion’s fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him” Lamentations 3:21-25. The Hebrew word for wait in verse 25 incorporates the idea of hope and expectancy, and the key to receiving is seeking Him; then even in the midst of overwhelming tragedies like Jeremiah we can have hope in God’s salvation and be willing to wait for its manifestation. Oh how powerful! Then the Psalmist cries out three times in Psalms 42 and 43, “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him.” Always remember that those who put their full faith, confidence, trust, and hope in Him will not be disappointed or ashamed, because ours is a living hope, 1 Peter 1:3, not a fantasy.
Hope
-By Rose Hill
Sometimes with great affliction of soul,
Everything seems to be out of control.
With darkness around and no light in sight,
All seems wrong and nothing right.
We’ve prayed and prayed and no answer came,
But we hope in God for He’s still the same.
Every morning His mercies are new to us,
In His great compassion we can trust.
The Lord is good to us each day,
For we seek to walk in His perfect way.
The Lord is the portion for our soul,
And He has everything under control.
On Him now we quietly wait,
For His help will never come too late.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Co. used by permission.