Hope in the Lord

Scripture:
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.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

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.

-- Lamentations 3:22-26

 

Observation: The author is mourning the destruction of Jerusalem - the complete destruction of the last of Israel and the Hebrew people - yet he acknowledges God's love, compassion, and faithfulness.

 

This is what Paul was telling the Corinthians. Even in the worst of times, three things remain: faith, hope, and love. In troubled times, these are three elements we as believers need to retain. We need to have faith that God remains with us in our circumstances, we need to hope that his plan for our lives will be delivered to us soon, but most of all we need to love God.

 

For we know God's love is so much greater than ours, and that he loved us first! At all times, God loves us, and by that love he hopes that we will turn to him in times of crisis, and has faith that we will so in order for his will to be done in our lives. So when we have faith, hope, and love for - and in - God, we are only returning a meager portion of what he has already poured out upon us.

 

Application: I remember the time in my life when I was lost, walking in darkness. I had given up on God entirely, and I had no love for God. As a result, I had no faith in anything, and no hope for my life at all. It was a terrible place to exist. 

 

Then I reached out to God with just a LITTLE hope ... and he poured his love, faithfulness, and compassion into my life with abundance - a full portion, measured out, and overflowing!!! And his love does renew in my life every morning. When it isn't obvious, all I have to do is wait a little while, and surely I will receive his love.

 

I wish everyone who lives I darkness could experience this. Surely the people of Jerusalem weren't experiencing it, and most of them either died or never returned to God. But those who kept their love, faith, and hope in tact eventually saw their nation return.

 

I truly wish that people today - those who have turned their backs on God, and those who have never even known him - could find just a little hope, faith, and love to just reach a hand to God and ask for blessing. God loves so much - he is SO faithful to all people - that he would never withhold his love from anyone with hope.

 

Prayer: I thank you often, God, for finding me when I was in the darkness. I wish you would do the same for others ... so many others whose names rush through my mind, and thousands more I do not know. Your kingdom come!