Finding Hope in Hopeless Times - Marion Cox

Lamentations 3

Introduction

The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city's hospitals. One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child's name and room number and talked briefly with the child's regular class teacher. "We're studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I'd be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn't fall too far behind."

The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I've been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn't accomplished much.

But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don't know what I mean. We've been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He's fighting back, responding to treatment. It's as though he's decided to live."

Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn't send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"

Bits & Pieces, July 1991

This young boy lost hope in his situation until he learned to look past the circumstance and see something greater to hope in.

What about you and me this morning? How do you and I find hope in hopeless times? How do we find strength and encouragement to keep going when sorrow, fear, and discouragement seem to be overwhelming?

The prophet Jeremiah has the answer for us.

Begins in the book of Lamentations by first showing the hopeless state of affliction that Jeremiah and the nation of Israel were suffering.

Lamentations 3:1-24

Body

1. Affliction - Vs. 1-18

3 I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath;

2 he has driven and brought me

into darkness without any light;

3 surely against me he turns his hand

again and again the whole day long.

4 He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;

he has broken my bones;

5 he has besieged and enveloped me

with bitterness and tribulation;

6 he has made me dwell in darkness

like the dead of long ago.

7 He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;

he has made my chains heavy;

8 though I call and cry for help,

he shuts out my prayer;

9 he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;

he has made my paths crooked.

10 He is a bear lying in wait for me,

a lion in hiding;

11 he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;

he has made me desolate;

12 he bent his bow and set me

as a target for his arrow.

13 He drove into my kidneys

the arrows of his quiver;

14 I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,

the object of their taunts all day long.

15 He has filled me with bitterness;

he has sated me with wormwood.

16 He has made my teeth grind on gravel,

and made me cower in ashes;

17 my soul is bereft of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness is;

18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the Lord.” [1]

a. Condition and state of this man is deplorable.

b. Jeremiah ministered for every 40 years and so little to no good things comes out of it.

c. (Glance back through, reading highlights of his despair)

d. Jeremiah, lamenting and mourning of the state of Israel—they have fallen

e. Israel sin has caused them to be defeated by enemies, taken into captivity, and has resulted in great suffering.

f. Jeremiah is mourning because of what is happening to them.

g. Vs. 18 – my endurance has perished and so has my hope.

h. Hopeless

i. Hope – confident expectation

ii. Hopeless – there is no confident expectation. With that removed, all that remains is despair.

iii. That is the tone of this chapter so far.

iv. You remove hope and you remove mans will to fight.

i. Vs. 17 -- Forgotten happiness

j. Diagnosed today – Chronic Depression

k. Next three verses change all that!

2. Remembrance - Vs. 19-21

19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

20 My soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

21 But this I call to mind,

and thereforeI have hope: [2]

a. Reread verses 19-20

b. How many of us have those constant and nagging memories and thoughts that won’t leave us alone?

c. How many of you can relate to, “my soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me”?

d. Memories of…

i. Guilt, remorse, regret – mistakes made

ii. Hurt, pain, offenses against us

iii. Sorrow, trial, hardship, difficulty.

e. We all have them. We want to get rid of them. They come in times that we least expect them.

f. That big BUT is for you then…

21 But this I call to mind,

and thereforeI have hope: [3]

g. The reality is, there will never be an end to the negative thoughts and feelings that we fight with. The question is, what do we do with it?

h. We do what Jeremiah did…

i. BUT THIS I CALL TO MIND AND THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE.

j. Jeremiah called to mind certain truths that reinvigorated his hope?

k. What truths?

3. Hope - Vs. 22-24

22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

23 they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 “The Lordis my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.” [4]

a. Steadfast love

i. This is one of the most theologically rich words in the OT

ii. Denotes kindness, love, loyalty, mercy.

iii. It is difficult to translate because it is so very specific, steadfast love, loyal love, covenantal love, faithful love.

iv. Often used to depict the love between God and His people.

v. Kindness (def 2) – especially as extended the lowly and needy and miserable. Mercy

b. Mercies

i. Compassion - sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it[5]

c. Of the Lord

i. It is the kindness and compassion of the Lord that matters to Jeremiah…nothing else could comfort Jeremiah like this

ii. What is it that comforts and encourages him? It is the reminder that the love and mercy of God never ceases, never comes to end…no matter what hardships are going on.

d. Never Ceases; Never Come to an End

i. God’s love for us never ceases

ii. Never - Not

iii. Cease – finish, complete, come to an end

iv. “The steadfast love of the Lord is not complete; has not finished; not ending.”

v. Even in the midst of hardship, trial, pain, and sorrow, the love of God will not end, will not cease.

vi. Romans 8

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [6]

vii. Here is the truth that is so great a comfort to us in our time of need…no matter what hardships, sorrows, trials, losses, or struggles we face…the love of God for us will never falter, dwindle, fade, or cease!

viii. Another way of saying it, there is nothing WE can do, there is nothing OTHERS can do, there is nothing ANYONE can do to make God love us less than he does right now.

ix. God will never love us with a love less that what it took for Him to send His Son to die in our place.

x. The truth that sustained Jeremiah was that the love and mercy of God was the same in the desolation of Israel as it was in the prosperity of Israel.

xi. One of the realities that gave Jeremiah hope in the midst of their darkest hour was that GODS love and mercy NEVER STOP. They are always present.

xii. This next statement is really yet another parallel statement to this but it does add another nuance for us.

e. The next statement says…THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING.

i. They – i.e. – the love and mercy of God

ii. God gives you each day what you need for that day.

iii. We are not living off yesterdays’ stale bread.

iv. You can’t live tomorrow on today’s mercy and grace; won’t be enough. Beautiful truth is that we do not have too. God gives us today what we need and will give us tomorrow what we need.

v. He is faithful.

f. Faithfulness

i. God is faithful – steadfast in affection or allegiance, firm in adherence to promises or duties

ii. God is consistent, reliable, and trustworthy, dependable. He always comes through. He will always supply the love and mercy we need…they are new every morning.

iii. He won’t miss a day.

iv. Consider Him as faithful as the rising and the setting of the sun.

v. This gave Jeremiah the ability to say…The Lord is my portion, say my soul

g. Portion

i. Lot, inheritance, share

ii. The Lord was the most valued possession that he possessed. It was all that mattered.

iii. Israel may lay in shambles and ruin, but the Lord was the most prized possession Jeremiah had and as long as he had the Lord, he still had hope.

iv. He says..THEREFORE I WILL HOPE IN HIM.

h. Hope

i. Confident expectation

During the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century, German pastor Paul Gerhardt and his family were forced to flee from their home. One night as they stayed in a small village inn, homeless and afraid, his wife broke down and cried openly in despair. To comfort her, Gerhardt reminded her of Scripture promises about God's provision and keeping. Then, going out to the garden to be alone, he too broke down and wept. He felt he had come to his darkest hour.

Soon afterward, Gerhardt felt the burden lifted and sensed anew the Lord's presence. Taking his pen, he wrote a hymn that has brought comfort to many. "Give to the winds thy fears; hope, and be undismayed; God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head. Through waves and clouds and storms He gently clears the way. Wait thou His time, so shall the night soon end in joyous day."

It is often in our darkest times that God makes His presence known most clearly. He uses our sufferings and troubles to show us that He is our only source of strength. And when we see this truth, like Pastor Gerhardt, we receive new hope. Are you facing a great trial? Take heart. Put yourself in God's hands. Wait for His timing. He will give you a "song in the night."

Our Daily Bread, May 7, 1992.

Application

· What about you? Maybe you feel like you have lost hope or in hopeless times. There may be days ahead, either today or days to come, that you may be tempted to or give way to hopelessness. I want you to hold on the truth that there is always hope in God.

· Did you believe that hope is possible? It is. But it is only found in the person of Jesus Christ. Hope is found in God alone.

· Begins with personal relationship to God which begins by acknowledging you are a sinner before God.

· Must repent of sin (change ones’ mind; turn away from never to live in again.)

· Put faith in Jesus Christ for salvation

· Confessing sin and seeking forgiveness, which is so freely given by God because of Jesus death on the cross.

· When you do this, God adopts you into his family, making you one of His own and forever lavishing his faithful love and mercy upon you and NOTHING CAN CHANGE OR REMOVE THAT.

· That gives hope. No matter how dark the days gets

· Call to mind the truths of God faithful and steadfast love and mercy and you will have hope that can never be taken away.

Graveside

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

34 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

1 I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and be glad.

3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 What man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may see good?

13 Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

14 Turn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20 He keeps all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

21 Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned. [7]

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (La 3:1–18). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (La 3:19–21). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. [3] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (La 3:19–21). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. [4] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (La 3:22–24). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. [5]Merriam-Webster, I. (1996). Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary (10th ed.). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. [6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 8:35–39). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. [7] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 34:title–22). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.