HOPE IN THE MIDST OF TROUBLE

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”” Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the Book of Jeremiah we see that God sends Israel warnings and then ultimately judgments for their sins.  In the end, God allows the Babylonians to conquer their land and take the people into captivity.

Lamentation, the Book that immediately follows the Book of Jeremiah, is a book of weeping and grief by the people of Israel over the losses that they had experienced.  It is a funeral dirge.

As Jeremiah trudged through the ruined city, he smelled destruction everywhere.  He knew the invading Babylonians had destroyed the city because the people had forsaken their God. He knew that the Lord's people had brought misery upon themselves - yet his heart still broke.

For two whole chapters Jeremiah laments the calamity.  He recognizes the chastening hand of God.

“Does not the Most High send both calamity and good?” Lamentations‬ ‭3:38‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Right in the middle of this dirge he stops to express one of the most hopeful pronouncements in the Old Testament... "The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”” Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In the midst of the carnage, in the midst of his own wailing, the prophet finds hope in knowing that God still reigns.  He knows that restoration and repentance can occur - God's anger will not burn against His people forever.

Jeremiah can go on - with hope. So can we.

Even though there are more tears as you read through the last two chapters of Jeremiah, there is this small light in the midst of the darkness - Because God lives - so can we!

No matter how dark things might look right now, now matter how hard life is and can be - don't give up, give in or quit.  Don't give up on hope! We can move forward because He lives and is going to reward those who remain faithful to Him.

“The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD...” Lamentations‬ ‭3:22-27‬ ‭NLT‬‬