If God Is Present, There Is Hope!
November 10, 2021·Dan Hicks
Well, isn’t it amazing… the sun came up again this morning!
You and I are people who pretty much live with that certainty. We believe the sun is going to rise every new day. The proof that you believe it is that you probably set your alarm to get you out of bed.
Today, I want to offer you this simple truth: As believers, we can trust and know that God’s strong love and faithfulness will be there to greet us with each new day, and… His tender mercies will be new again every morning we wake up!
In our Pause reading this week, we’re in the little Book of Lamentations. I want us to look at some verses in chapter 3.
My soul still remembers and sinks within me.
This I recall to my mind; therefore, I have hope.
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning.
Great is Your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”
(Lamentations 3:20-24)
The early part of this chapter describes the personal struggle that Jeremiah had. I could imagine it may have been like a “pandemic year” for him. It appears as though his difficulty just would not go away. In verse 20, he says:
My soul still remembers and sinks within me.
It is all too much for him, as he thinks about what has happened to him, and it seems to leave him without a sense of hope.
Has anything ever happened to you, and the memory of that time or event leaves you feeling hopeless? It is the mind-games that occur after the event that can work us over. And those can be more distressing than the actual initial suffering. We are often left with a feeling of hopelessness, which at times can put us on the pathway to depression.
How do we deal with these things? One thing Jeremiah shows us is that we would do well to put the past behind us and focus on the future. He pauses for a moment of reflection and then says: Therefore… I have hope.
You see, as believers, our hope for today, tomorrow, and for all eternity, is based firmly on God’s unchanging love and unfailing mercy. Every morning His love and mercy toward us are refreshed, new again, like a brilliant sunrise. That is what Jeremiah’s “therefore” is recalling. He further elaborates in verse 22:
“Because His compassions fail not” (“steadfast love”), the original Hebrew word (hesed) translated as “steadfast love,” is a very important Old Testament term that speaks of the faithful, loyal, constant goodness and love that God shows to us.
Don’t miss this, the Lord has an inexhaustible supply of love for you!
Jeremiah is suffering through a painfully distressing situation. Yet, in the moment of his deepest despair, a remarkable change in attitude takes place.
His hopelessness turns to faith when he remembers the Lord’s loyal love, compassion, goodness, and mercy.
Hope does not come easily, sometimes it comes as a result of pain.
In our broken, pandemic world, we don’t get to escape tragedy or loss or heartache… but because of God’s steadfast love that never fails, we can have new hope every day.
This group of verses concludes with this remarkable, hope-filled expression: “The Lord is my portion.”
In other words: “I trust God and I need nothing more,” or, “God is everything; I need nothing else,” or, “I need nothing, because God is with me.”
- The Lord’s faithfulness is so great,
- It is so personal and sure,
- He reserves just the right portion — everything we need — for our souls to drink in today, tomorrow, and the next day.
Then, when we wake up and discover His steady, daily, restorative care, our hope is renewed and our faith is reborn.
Therefore, I have hope in Him!
So, our hope as believers is not irrational.
It is based on God, who has proven Himself faithful.
We look back on everything God has already done, and we trust in what He will do in the future.
Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.”
Let’s go plant something good this week. I’ll begin by planting this seed in the soil of my heart: My Lord is my portion; therefore, I will have hope!
Pastor Dan Hicks
