Dare to Hope

What is hope?

Hope is a word trivialized by overuse in our English lexicon.  “I hope I get a good parking spot.”  “I hope they have those shoes in my size.”  It’s innocent enough, of course.  But real hope is so much more.

One definition describes hope as an “optimistic state of mind…based on an expectation of positive outcomes.”  But the Hebrew meaning is so much deeper.  One definition is “to wait.”  Another is “to be patient.”   It’s a determination that, even in the darkest night, the sun will shine again, if I can just be patient, and wait this out.

Hope is more than a flutter in the chest, a giddy excitement, a crossing of the fingers.

Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet.  What a job it must have been to be God’s man on the ground, speaking His word to the people, and to have them reject it—Every. Single. Time.  If success is measured by converts alone, Jeremiah would have been identified as The Biggest Loser.  In a results-driven, data-centric culture like ours, Jeremiah would’ve been asked to clear his desk, surrender his company ID, and been escorted from the building.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying or reaching or preaching.  He did what he knew God wanted, he said what God told him to say.  Still, Jeremiah watched his people be consumed by their enemy, Babylon, and those who didn’t die were carted off to live as prisoners of war for the next 70 years.  Jeremiah knew that God was simply making good on His promise to bring judgment on rebellious Israel.  It still grieved his spirit.  It broke his heart.  I imagine the spirit of depression was having a heyday with Jeremiah’s emotions.  So close to a complete break; so close to losing faith in the God he’d devoted his life and ministry to. 

It was a dark day, indeed.  Look at some of Jeremiah’s thoughts as recorded in Lamentations 3:

Lamentations 3: 13-20 NLT

He shot his arrows deep into my heart.
¹⁴ My own people laugh at me.
    All day long they sing their mocking songs.
¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink.

¹⁶ He has made me chew on gravel.  He has rolled me in the dust.
¹⁷ Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸ I cry out, “My splendor is gone!
    Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!”

¹⁹ The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.^[a]
20 I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Anybody else see that spirit of depression sitting on his shoulder?  Is it just me?

One characteristic of great people of God throughout the Bible is their understanding of the importance of encouraging themselves—regarding God’s character, potential, intention, and power.  David, especially, would remind himself of all that the Lord had done for him in the past, and of His promises for the future.  It’s clear Jeremiah also knew the power of this.  Watch the next series of verses.

Lamentations 3:21-26 NLT

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends!^[b]  His mercies never cease.
²³ Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
²⁶ So it is good to wait quietly  for salvation from the Lord.

Instead of blaming God, Jeremiah recognized that the Lord wasn’t into punishing His people unjustly.  He knew they’d had plenty of opportunities to repent and get right, but they’d blown past every warning, every stop sign, and hurtled at top speed towards the canyon of their own destruction.  Jeremiah knew that, like a good father, God was only seeking to get the attention of Israel in a way that would bring about a reform of their actions and character.  It was “tough love” at its most epic, sweeping best.

Lamentations 3: 31-33 NLT

³¹ For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever.
³² Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love.
³³ For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.

Don’t ever despair.  God has given us hope to carry us through to the end.  Give your situation to God, ask for His direction and mercy, and then DETERMINE to wait it out.  He has not abandoned you forever.  He is the inheritance of His children!  He is GOOD to those who depend on and search for Him!  His  mercies never cease.  He shows us compassion, because of the greatness of His unfailing love.  His faithfulness isn’t just average—it’s GREAT.  DARE to hope, like Jeremiah.  Hebrews 6:19 says that the Hope that we have is an “anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast.”  Since the function of an anchor is to hold the ship in place, regardless of the weather that would buffet it about, trust in the Anchor of your soul.  It is sure, it is steadfast, and YOU ARE SAFE, as long as you stay in the boat.

You WILL SURVIVE.  He is our hope.