Lamentations 3:19 – 23 I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall, I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope; Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
25 -26 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
One Christmas when I was about six, I didn’t have much hope. My two older brothers and I lived with my grandparents. They were faithful in making sure that my brothers and I had everything we needed. However, they were not eager to entertain our hopes of a toy-filled Christmas. When we went to bed on Christmas Eve, there were three presents under the tree, one for each of us. They were from my aunt and they were in a shoebox-shaped container. They didn’t rattle or make any enticing noises when I shook them. Furthermore, it wasn’t a good sign that we seemed to have identical presents. When we woke up the next morning, there was no change. The same three gifts were under the tree. We opened them and it was a pair of slippers. I get excited about a good pair of slippers now, but not when I was six. About a half hour later, my dad arrived, but I didn’t have any expectations at that point. He told us to help him unload the car, and even then I didn’t expect anything. But when we went to the car, we found the trunk filled with gifts! And it wasn’t all clothes and shoes – there were toys! I was so happy!
These days the stakes are much higher than what gifts we get for Christmas, and the waits are much longer. It can be easy for hope to fade away without you realizing it’s happening. You begin to lack motivation. Thoughts creep into your mind like, “what good will it do anyway.” Other thoughts are subtle but powerful accusations against God, such as “I’m on my own. He’s left me hanging” or “He doesn’t care what I’m going through.”
Hope, as the word is used in the Bible, is an immensely powerful concept. It is far beyond wishful thinking. One Bible dictionary defines it as, “an eager, confident expectation that sustains a person while he or she is waiting for future fulfillment.”[1] Another says, “hope is the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future.”[2] Our reason to hope is that God is good!
Hope is a NECESSITY. It fuels perseverance; revives the soul and gives energy. Hope flips the lights on and pulls you out of darkness. It opens your eyes to possibilities and it opens your eyes to see God, Himself. So, what can you do if you feel hopeless? Pause and remember. Remember God’s love and remember His compassion. Remember how He has come through for you in the past. Remember and refresh your hope that your heavenly Father can show up in unexpected ways and times with an abundance of what you need and hope for. Remember that “the Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him” (Lamentations 3:25), and remember that hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:5)!
Questions for Reflection
- How do you recognize when you’ve lost hope?
- What do you do to restore your hope?
[1] Revel Concise Bible Dictionary
[2] Holman Bible Dictionary
You are truly a Blessing!!! Keep Up the good work, and Continue To Do The Work Of GOD!!