Dare To Hope

“Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:” Lamentations 3:21 (NLT)

I will never forget those nights; curled in a ball, buried under my covers, facing the wall, hoping that night would bring a break-through in my prayers. Why Lord? What am I doing wrong? Why won’t you just fix his problems?

Some nights only silent tears, and other nights, loud wails. Many nights, as I cried myself to sleep I believed everything I had hoped for  was lost. The situation seemed hopeless.

Have you ever cried until the tears would no longer come and your heart was broken? Have you ever uttered these or similar words, “Everything I hope for in the Lord is lost?”  You, me, and Jeremiah make three.

Jeremiah found himself in a hopeless situation as he watched the Temple of the Lord being burned to the ground by the Babylonians. His heart broke.  The elements of the Temple such as the water basin, lamp snuffers, and the like were stolen, and taken to Babylon to be used to worship the gods of Baal.

God chose Jeremiah to deliver His forecast of discipline and destruction to Judah and Jerusalem. He did his job and did it well, however, not without punishment, ridicule, insults, and imprisonment.

The weeping prophet cried until no more tears would come. (Lamentations 2:11, NLT) His heart was broken for Jerusalem and for God’s people, his people. In anguish he lamented the words, “Everything I had hoped for in the Lord is lost.” (Lamentations 3:18, NLT) Then out of the midst of his despair he dared to hope. He was renewed with hope when he remembered.

The remembrance changed his perspective on his present situation. Jeremiah dared to hope and regardless of our circumstances we can too. In reading Lamentations 3:21-24 (NLT), you can hear the expressions in Jeremiah’s voice change from lament to optimism.

Jeremiah’s remembrance was the key to elevating him from the pit of despair to a place of expectancy. It is our key as well.

Remember:

• His unfailing love for him
• His new mercies meant for him
• His never ending faithfulness toward him
• His inheritance due him

During my desperate nights, I longed for my circumstances to be different. I cried until the tears would no longer come. But I pushed through my feelings and chose to remember God’s faithfulness. Did the circumstances change because I remembered his faithfulness, love, and mercy? No.  But my outlook did.

Are you in need of hope today?  Will you choose to remember His faithfulness, love, and mercy despite the despair and destruction around you? Will you dare to hope?