Hope For Today

I know this looks like a lot of Scripture and it is but you may never read Lamentations any other time so this is what God has laid on my heart to share with you today. This book of the bible is believed to have been written by Jeremiah and is probably why he carries the title of The Weeping Prophet.

1 I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger.2 He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light.3 He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. 4 He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones.5 He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress.6 He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead. 7 He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains.8 And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers.9 He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked. 10 He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me.11 He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated.12 He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows. 13 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. 20 I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Lamentations 3:1-20 (NLT)

I believe there probably comes a time in every life that we as Christians feel as Jeremiah did. As if God has decided to forsake us and bring us nothing but trouble and misery. We often see it as punishment for the sins in our lives and we allow our hearts to become hard and turn our backs on God thinking that it can’t be any worse without Him. Sometimes we might claim it to be as we are trying to serve Him. Thankfully Jeremiah does not end the testimony on this note. He brings us a place of hope and we can all us that.

21 Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: 22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! 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.

Lam 3:21-26 (NLT)

It is not easy but those of us who call on the name of Jesus; we must find our hope in Him. We cannot turn to the world and think that it will be able to provide a hope for us. Our only real hope will be found in the Lord Jesus. Do you trust in Him? I challenge you to walk in the light of His Word holding on to each promise you find there. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you that is a great place to find hope for today. Have a blessed day as you walk in the light of His Word.