When we encounter life’s times of suffering, fear, anguish, loss, and pain what we do with hope determines how and even if we survive. The truth is, some problems that we experience, we are forced to go through. We cannot hide from them, go around them, over them, sneak past them, or even sleep through them. When the issue demands that we become victorious over it, we must face it and fight our way through it in order to rid ourselves of it. How many times in life do you and I seem to be conquered by the same thing day in and day out? These hard things, difficult things, gut wrenching things are the very things we must face and overcome. When handling such issues, one of the most important and vital elements is hope. Hope is not tangible but it makes the difference. It is simply a positive expectation that things will get better. Hope keeps us going and believing and expecting nothing less than a good outcome when all is said and done. Hope compels us to fight on even when we are fully drained. It tells us to continue when everyone else has told us to quit. When we have nothing else and no one else—we have hope. However, when hope is abandoned, lost, or depleted--seemingly nothing in this world can cause us to believe that it will get better. When a person has lost hope, they have truly lost it all. Hope is the key to a successful outcome. Without it, we are locked out of triumph. When one is in despair or on the edge of ending it all—they are often referred to as “hopeless.” When the situation looks impossible it is called a “hopeless” situation.
One of the chief ways that we lose hope is to forget about the times when our hope helped us make it. We can often act like we have never come across hard times when the truth is, most of us have been through numerous trials. When we act like this, we are not being mature and we are purposely being weak because we don’t want to exert the effort to endure tough times. We get tired of suffering and just desire a small season of peace and rest. But life is not and shall not ever be like that. Life, at times, is simply one season of discomfort and suffering that invariably blends in to the next. And, over time we learn to deal with it. We become hardened by it. We lose unnecessary sensitivity and learn to be content and not to be so fast to complain. We learn to appreciate that which we in former times overlooked or took for granted. These times build our characters and develop maturity. When problems arrive, we either get better or bitter. Problems equip us or they deplete us. They build us up or tear us down. Whatever happens is all determined by what we do with hope.
One place where plenty of stories about the power of hope are found is in the Bible. Now, if discussions about God, Jesus, faith, religion, and/or the Bible bother you—either deal with it or find another blog to read. One thing I do not do and will not do is worry about offending people or tiptoeing around certain subject matter to remain inoffensive or politically correct. If you’ve read any of my other writings, you will quickly recognize the fact that my main objective is to candidly discuss and/or analyze issues within a logical and realistic context. I always try to make things a bit comical also (to keep you reading). Anyway, in my writing I can also come across as sarcastic, cynical, hyperbolic at times, silly, direct, candid, etc.—but always, always, always real.
Back to the Bible… Within the Bible we can find many examples of hope bringing people through some of the toughest tests of their patience and fortitude. Today, not to sound too preachy or doctrinal, I will examine a very powerful passage of scripture tucked within a very small and overlooked book in the Bible. This story is not one of the many miracles listed in the Bible nor is it a hugely dramatic story of triumph. It is simply an expression of thought by a well-known prophet uttered in a time of great challenges and suffering.
The particular book under analysis is the book of Lamentations. Yes, that’s its title--Lamentations. This book has five chapters. Four out of the five chapters have 22 verses. The third (and middle) chapter has 66 verses. In all actuality, the book is a long poetic piece that chronicles the nation of Israel’s (namely the kingdom of Judah) fall from greatness. It has the tone of a sad but poetic eulogy to be read at a funeral or memorial service of some sort. The book of Lamentations was most likely written between 586 and 575 B.C., during or soon after Jerusalem’s fall from a sovereign nation to that of a colony of sorts of Babylon (modern day Iraq). Each chapter is in reality a separate poem. In the original Hebrew language that this was written in, the verses are “acrostic.” This means that each verse started with a succeeding letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Nonetheless, despite its artistic content and inherent literary beauty, it is not an uplifting story. It brutally compares the nation of Judah (Israel), the people thereof, and the city of Jerusalem to one who has been abandoned and severely impoverished. In truth this did occur. The city, the temple, and these people were invaded by the Babylonians, their city burned and looted, their people killed, kidnapped, and relocated to modern day Iraq—to live a life of political and social servitude for the proceeding seven to eight decades.
This book in short is a somber one. It is the detail of trouble and suffering that a nation endured because, in the eyes of the prophet—they left and forgot about God. However, right in the middle of this book, in the middle chapter almost in the middle of the chapter—in the midst of all the lamenting and sorrowful recounting of the better years passed by and the looking ahead to the anguish and pain set before them, the prophet Jeremiah writes something magnificent in verses 21-23; “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.” That’s powerful isn’t it? Consider the placement of it. It was written in the midst of so much doom and gloom. It is literally surrounded within the context of death and destruction. But what does he say, “This I recall to my mind…” This opening statement tells us that he made himself remember something significant. It just did not pop into his mind; he had to “recall” it. Firstly, I want to say this to you brothers and sisters; there are times in your life that you will be overwhelmed with trouble and grief. It is a natural tendency for us as humans to grieve, sulk, or embrace the sadness for too long. When this occurs, we move from grieving to wallowing in self-pity. This is so not healthy. It leads to hopelessness and depression. Soon enough we feel like the whole world is caving in on us and there is no way out. Have you ever been there? It’s terrible. It is such a low, dark, and heavy feeling. It can come from a loss of someone, a sudden tragic occurrence, a huge disappointment, etc. But we all deal with it. I want to tell you that when all seems lost, recall to your mind how God has been there for you all of your life and always will be. Let’s move on. He said that because he recalled this thought to his mind, “Therefore I have hope.” There it is—hope. Before he forced himself to remember the goodness of God, he had no hope. He was in the midst of sorrow and hopelessness, yet his key to the recovery of hope was the correct use of his memory. You know, one of the things that happen to us when we are faced with trouble is that our memories are affected. We immediately forget how God has been faithful to us our whole lives. He has protected us and rescued us from very difficult circumstances—over and over and over again. Yet, when trouble arrives at our doors, we focus on the pain and forget the power. The power of God… and even when God did not quickly come to our rescue or perform some miraculous intervention—He sustained us physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally through it all. Some of the things that we have gone through, others have faltered along the way. Some of the trouble we dealt with and overcame has actually destroyed others. Some of the heartache we recovered from has severely traumatized others. Thank God. Thank God for holding together the sanity of our minds and hearts. What’s more—even when we were out and about doing the craziest of things—God protected us. Others have done what we have done and now sit in a hospital awaiting their death. But God protected us in our foolishness. So, when we recall this to our minds—it must yield hope.
Well, what was it that gave him hope? “Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed…” That is so profound. God’s mercy alone keeps up from being consumed. Another word for consumed is destroyed. As just mentioned, there are things that could have—and yes—should have “consumed” us, but they did not. They did not consume us because of the goodness of God. Even the self-inflicted wounds and trouble brought upon us could only go so far before the mercies of God stepped in and took over. We may face trouble, but it won’t consume us. We may face loss, but it won’t consume us. We may face attacks from friend and foe alike—but it won’t consume us. Can’t you just rest in that fact? Look at where you stand now? Do you have trouble? Are you suffering loss? Do your issues seem insurmountable? You know what… they are there, but they won’t consume you. You may feel the sting of pain and heaviness of a broken heart—but you will not be consumed. Let’s look further…
“Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” I have to close this piece out. But know this, God’s mercy, according to the prophet here, is new every morning. When you woke up today, you were compassed with new mercies from God. And when you arise tomorrow, His unfailing compassion and new mercies will await you and follow you throughout the day. Don’t believe me. What did the psalmist David write in the 23rd Psalm and he 6th verse? “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” Let’s not forget God. Let’s remember Him not matter how tough it seems. That’s our only way to keep hope in our lives when there is not tangible evidence that things will improve. Don’t forget God because He has never forgotten you.
