“Yet I still dare to hope”
Lamentations 3:21
Have you ever been in a season of life where crummy things keep happening? Can you still dare to hope in these circumstances?
I had always hoped to get married, thinking it would happen soon after high school, then college, and finally Bible School (after all, it is called Bridal School, isn’t it?). However, it didn’t happen. While my friends were getting married and starting families, that wasn’t the case for me. After a difficult breakup, I moved back home across the country due to my mental health struggles. As my late twenties approached and I was still single, I began to lose hope.
In Lamentations 3:19-39, we see Jeremiah in an imperfect situation. He is facing suffering, homelessness, and loss. But, he still chooses to have HOPE! Why?!? Because of the “unfailing love of the Lord” (vs.22); because of His great faithfulness, and new mercies each morning (vs. 23); because “the Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him and seek him” (vs. 25); because “He does not abandon anyone forever” (vs31); because “though he brings grief, he also shows compassion according to the greatness of his unfailing love” (vs. 32); and because “He does not like hurting people or causing them sorrow” (vs. 33).
Jeremiah knows God intimately, he knows God’s character. He knows nothing happens without the Lord’s permission (vs. 37). So, even when things really suck, God is still who He says He is. He is still good, compassionate, loving, faithful, merciful, and wonderfully good! And in those miserable times, even when we no longer dare to hope, “He remains faithful, for He cannot deny who he is” (Timothy 2:13 NLT).
One day, about a year after I had moved home, I was at church listening to a sermon on prayer. I honestly don’t remember much of what was said, but it was a message of hope. It reminded me of who God is and that he listens to his children and knows the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). I dared to HOPE again. Hope that God had chosen the right man for me, hope that he knew my desire to get married and would give me that, and hope that he is good no matter what.
So I prayed, and I dared to hope, and I waited. Not long after, I met my wonderful husband, whom I have been married to for over 10 years.
So, let’s dare to hope! No matter what we are facing today, let’s choose to believe God is who he says he is… we can put our hope in that every single day!
“So, let’s dare to hope! No matter what we are facing today, let’s choose to believe God is who he says he is.”
When Grace Becomes Gratitude
