Hope in the Lord

A couple of weeks ago I was reading in Lamentations 3. Several verses in this chapter brought me encouragement.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him! The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.” – v 21-26

Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow. – v 32-33

But I called on your name, LORD, from deep within the pit. You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading! Hear my cry for help!” Yes, you came when I called; you told me, “Do not fear.” – v 55-57

These verses reminded me to hope in the Lord. Things in life are always changing. But God is constant. That’s why we can’t go wrong when we put our hope in Him.

When we keep our focus on the Lord, we remember that He is faithful, He is loving, He is merciful, He is good, and He is compassionate. He hears our prayers and He helps us when we call to Him.

These things are part of God’s character. He cannot change who He is. He cannot be anything but goodness and loving and merciful and faithful.

In the words of Dr. Charles Stanley, “We can do nothing to change his love for us—it is unconditional and flows freely from his throne of grace. He never changes, and he is faithful to keep all of his promises.”

How comforting that is! But often times we have to remind ourselves of truth. The enemy will try to discourage us and make us doubt. Especially when we are facing something difficult. Our minds will start spinning and worrying. We will have fear over what we’re facing. But the Bible tells us that when we seek the Lord, He will not turn away from us. So it’s important to hold on to Jesus, and keep our focus on Him. When we have Him, we always have hope.

“Jesus invites us into His presence without shame, without our past baggage, without the need to cover ourselves or to be someone we’re not, without the enemy’s constant taunts in our ear telling us we’re not enough, and without the self-deprecating slurs we constantly hurl at ourselves. He wants us in His presence, full and free, healed and whole, expectant and full of faith. Jesus wants to heal us deeply so we’ll more readily believe that He loves us completely. And when we start to grasp how secure we are in Him, we’ll be more apt to pray and believe from that sturdy place. We’ll learn to trust His promises, rely on His goodness, and rest on His unchanging grace.” – Susie Larson

Whatever you are facing today, keep your hope in Jesus. He doesn’t like to see you hurting. He walked this earth, so He understands everything you are going through. He loves you and He is with you every step of the way. Call on Him. He hears your prayers. And in Luke 18 He reminds us to keep praying and don’t give up.

Thank you for reading. Please say a prayer for my family. And continue to share your prayer requests with me as well. God bless you!

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