The "Weeping Prophet," Jeremiah, wrote Lamentations ... because he was lamenting. He was devastated about the destruction of Jerusalem. In the midst of it, Jeremiah writes about hope ... or, rather, the lack of it. That's right. Jeremiah says, "My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness. So I say, 'My strength has perished, And so has my hope from YHWH" (Lam 3:17-18). This prophet, this chosen mouthpiece of God, says his hope from YHWH has perished.
Biblical "hope" isn't your garden variety "hope." In English, "hope" is defined as "to cherish a desire with anticipation : to want something to happen or be true." That sounds right. But biblical hope has a different ... tint to it. The word in this text is "expectation." It is more than "to want something." It's expecting something. That is, it's not so much a question of "if," but "when." In the famous love chapter in 1 Corinthians, Paul writes, "But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Cor 13:13). That Greek word is "to anticipate" Again, not "if," but "when." Biblical "hope" is a certainty not yet become real.
Back, then, to Jeremiah. His "expectation" from the Lord has perished. But ... then ... he says, "Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me. This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope" (Lam 3:20-21). What does Jeremiah recall that renews his hope ... his expectation of something good? "YHWH's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lam 3:22-23) He says, "YHWH is my portion. Therefore I have hope in Him" (Lam 3:24). Not "things are gonna get better." Not "I'm sure He'll do what I want." No. "In this situation without hope, this despair, I find Him to be enough." What about you? His circumstances looked as bleak as they could be. He did not find hope there. He found it ... in God alone. He found God's reliable lovingkindness to be sufficient. He found that, simply having the Lord, he was satisfied. Do you? Are we satisfied with just Jesus? Or do we need more? Do we hope in just Him, or are we expecting ... something better?
2 comments:
In our cynical world, hope is for fools. But we're not hoping in a dreamy way, or in "the universe", but in the sure steadfast faithfulness of God as proven from the beginning of time.
I must indeed be “satisfied with just Jesus” and “hope in just Him,” as you say, for everything else--all the things in this world that I might cherish and find joy in--could leave my possession in an instant and certainly will not last beyond this present life. But God’s love and compassion are a sure thing, for all eternity. I’m not “hoping against hope,” for the Lord will fulfill my ultimate “Great Expectations.” “My soul remembers”--what a poignant thought.
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