The Promise Of Hope For The Future

I hope that you had a good year. We can say that not everyone had a good year. Some lost a loved one. Others were touched by the tragic consequences of war. Many lost jobs and went into financial ruin. Many have come through this last year asking, what hope is there for me?

If that is your question, then you are not alone. Some people have come through this last year asking what hope is there for me? If that is your question, then you are not alone. Think for a moment how Jeremiah the prophet felt when he writes the book of Lamentations.

After forty years of discouraging ministry and personal hardship his nation collapses. The city of Jerusalem has fallen. His nation has been destroyed and the temple demolished. Not just any temple but the most costly temple in all of history, Solomon’s Temple.

Everything important to Israel has been knocked out from under them. The Hebrew Word for the first book of Lamentation is How? How deserted lies the city. How like a widow is she.

How could God let this happen? Has God abandoned me? Is God still all powerful? Do we believe what Nebuchadnezzar says that his god’s are more powerful than God Almighty? These are the same question we might ask when we lose all hope.

In all this confusion and pain is there some way we can see God working though it all? How do we respond when all the securities in our life are destroyed? Lamentation does more than ask the question, how? Lamentations gives of the profound answer.

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

20 My soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

21 But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

26 It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD. (Lamentations 3:19-26)

Here is a message, though in the midst of despair, is of joy and hope. It tells us that no matter what our situation, when we feel defeated, there is victory. Where there is personal suffering, there is relief. When you experience loss there is abundant gain.

Those who sincerely trust God there is hope for the future. There is promise for what lies ahead. Here is Jeremiah the weeping prophet proclaiming hope in those who trust God. Like the Psalmist proclaimed, when anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. (Psalm 94:14)

For many it seems like, as it did for Jeremiah, that the bottom has dropped out. Everything is gone in an instant. It could be you are on the mountaintop and then a health crises brings everything crashing down. A family crisis can change the whole outlook in an instant.

In Jeremiah’s day there were two groups of people suffering. One was the majority who were suffering as the consequence of sin and being away from God. There were those suffering like Jeremiah despite how faithful they were to God. Yet the circumstances of the day engulfed him.

Despite this there is the outlook of hope. We see God’s love bringing this hope.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; (Lamentations 3:22)

As dark as the times and as intense as the suffering was God’s love was there. It was there for Jeremiah, and he proclaimed this hope to his suffering people. The love of God is still there for you. The love and compassion of God never fails.

When we really embrace the compassion and love of God our deepest laments can turn to hope and joy.

Maybe this season has left you so low that you don’t even have the energy to talk or think straight. Maybe the dark clouds are so thick you can’t imagine seeing the beauty of the light of day. When you become overwhelmed in this way then you need to look to God’s love.

Even if you have reached rock bottom that is just when the loving compassion of God can reach down and pull you out of the dark valley. The great love and compassion of God are new every morning.

The days ahead can be the greatest of your life if you allow God’s love to fill your life. It takes more than a resolution. It takes God’s love. What you might need to do is to find a place to get alone. Maybe you can find your quiet in God’s creation. Do find a place where you can pray and read God’s Word.