Waiting in Hope

 100+ years ago, a Texas pastor told Sam Houston that Christ died for his sins. Sam asked for baptism in a local pond. The day came, & up he came out of the water. Pastor said, "Sam, your sins are washed away." Houston replied, "God help the fish!" Judah was just as sin stained. God warned her for ~400 years of judges. 80 years as a united kingdom. Another 210 years as divided kingdoms (Judah & Israel). Assyria carried off Israel (N kingdom) into captivity, a huge warning. God warned Judah for yet another 135 years1 Did they learn? No. God had to judge. Jeremiah's times were dark time. How dark? Babylon invaded Judea & destroyed city after city. Finally, they besieged Jerusalem. Starvation & horror soon followed inside the city walls. Caring women ate children they'd nurtured. Too soon, the end came. Babylonians broke thru city walls. In the streets, they brutally killed men, women, & children. They razed the temple. Destroyed homes. Looted all the valuables. Suffering & loss were huge. The strongest, best, & brightest survivors? Carried off into exile. Slaves. Worst of all? People brought it on themselves & knew it. They rebelled against & disobeyed God. Afterwards, Jeremiah wandered the streets. Dazed. As he wept & wandered, he reflected. The result? Lamentations. Most of Lamentations is as dark as his times. There's one bright spot, the center. Our verses, his message. Let's look at Lam 3:19-26. He starts where we do. Dwelling on what happened. 19aI remember my affliction... He had suffered, too. Not just Judea. For some 23 years he warned & warned Judah. People rejected his message & ridiculed him. Repeatedly. In Jer 11, hometown people plotted to kill him. In Jer 19-20, he was arrested, beaten, & put in stocks. In Jer 26, the high priest had him arrested, beaten, & sentenced to death. And in Jer 38, he was arrested, beaten & tossed in a cistern to starve. Finally, Babylon invaded & besieged Jerusalem. So much negative! Who wouldn't dwell on it? 19bI remember ... my wandering... When free, all Jeremiah could do was wander its streets. 19cI remember ... the bitterness & the gall. He'd seen his people killed & his beloved temple razed. He saw the destruction of all he'd known. As he wandered, he wept. 20aI'm remembering all that well. Dwelling on it, 20bMy soul is downcast within me. No wonder! How can anyone avoid depression? Not seriously question God's goodness? Can God be good in the middle of so much destruction? So much suffering? God called Jeremiah. When God lets him suffer, how can he avoid wondering if God is good? The problem? Dwelling on negatives only leads to despair & depression. It never brings us hope. Like Jeremiah, are we dwelling on all that's wrong? Brooding on the negative? (Pastor's leaving...) Stop! What should we do instead? Do what Jeremiah does next. It's a lesson for us. Remember. 21aYet this I call to mind. Remember the Lord. Remember His goodness. Remember His faithfulness. 21bTherefore I have hope. Remembering God's faithfulness brings hope. Always. Why? 22aBecause of the Lord's great love (חֶ֫סֶד) we aren't consumed. Think about that. Judah has been sticking it in God's eye for over 800 years. If were God, we'd have zotted them out of existence long ago. They'd more than earned total destruction. Many times over. Who among us is better? If God chooses to remove us, who doesn't deserve it? Why hasn't He? Love. God loves us passionately. So much that He took human form, lived a perfect life, & sacrificed it on the cross. He endured all that torture. Just to pay our sin debt. He'd rather suffer than let us perish. That's God's great love for us. After Jerusalem's fall, Jeremiah is still alive. God preserved him. Likewise, Judah has a remnant. Yes, they'll go into captivity. But God didn't destroy them. Nor did He destroy the N kingdom, Israel. They too had a remnant in captivity. All of us deserve destruction. But because of God's great love, we aren't consumed. We have hope. God was angry with Judah. But He wasn't done with her. Think about it. It's powerful & comforting. No matter what we do or how sinful we are, God won't give up on us. He may discipline us. And His discipline may make us foolishly wish He'd give up on us! But God already died for us. He'll never give up on us. He loves us way too much. Jeremiah continues. 22bGod's compassions never fail. How can Jeremiah say this? It's the bleakest point in Israel's 800-year history! His answer? 23aGod's mercies are new every morning. God always forgives. Always helps. He'll never fail. Our supply of His mercy is unending. No wonder, Jeremiah bursts into praise. 23bGreat is your faithfulness! Know what this means? 24aI say to myself, "The Lord is my portion. He's always with us. He's always for us. That makes God ours! Know what that means? He's worth waiting for. He may seem long in coming. But His timing will be perfect. 24bTherefore I'll wait for him." I've reworded vv. 25-26 to show literally what Jeremiah emphasizes. 25aGood is the Lord to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him. 26Good it is to wait quietly for the Lord's salvation. God is so good! Stake our hope on Him, & it'll be good for us. Wait quietly for the salvation we need. Why? We can wait in hope. God is good. He's faithful. And He's never failed. Never been late. We won't wait in vain, even if He seems long in coming. What are our takeaways? God doesn't cause our suffering. All He has to do is withdraw His protection. Our enemy is only too happy to make us suffer. When we do suffer, God is faithful, merciful, & full of compassion. He'll never let us suffer longer than needed. No longer than it takes to fulfill His purpose. We can know beyond shadow of doubt that He's good. He never cools off in His commitment to us. Never loses passion for us. Never breaks a promise. Even if we deliberately reject & disobey Him, He stays near us. Whether we're grieving Him or praising Him, He stays involved in our lives. Whether we're running to or from Him, He's faithful. When we turn to Him, we know He'll be with us all the way. He'll never leave us alone. No conditions. His faithfulness is endless & unwavering. Nothing we do will lessen it. Nothing we stop doing will increase it. He's faithful whether we succeed or blow it. Even if we make stupid decisions. God's faithfulness never fades. That's never change. Whatever we're waiting for, we're waiting in hope. 1 Source: Calculated from dates provided by The Bible Journey. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Waiting in Hope - Lamentations 3:19-26 Page 1 of 1