Having Hope in a Hopeless Times

The question was asked the other day, what keeps us getting up every day? The answer to the question is that, we have a grip on hope even when its life becomes hopeless. If we would take a close inspection of our society. If we would be honest, it’s not easy to have a grip on hope. Just in 2020 we are fighting what seems to be a losing battle called an “pandemic”. To our government administration it seems to be joke to watch over 200,000 lives be consumed by this virus. But in the midst of us trying to cope and conquer this chaos. We have a front row seat to the screenplay of injustice. America thinks it’s ok to take a life of an African- American citizen. But it’s so heartless and hurtful that they expect us who stand for justices to not say nothing. When George Floyd was saying everything. “I CAN’T BREATHE. One scholar said that “While I breathe, I hope. Now we’re face with the dilemma of protestors who voice is wanting to be hear. And they are taking extreme measures to make sure that it happens. Not because racism and injustices are a first-time offender. But racism and injustices has be a repeated offender. Can you recall watching this same screenplay in 2014 with victim Eric Garner? We have the same scene just different characters. But all why this is arising in our country, we are still fight the war against poverty. We were given a stimulus check that only last monetary. The truth of the matter is that, there are family who are always in negotiate Are we going to pay the bills or feed the children? If the truth be told, if we are not careful we will find ourselves losing a grip on hope? Life is becoming worst before it better. But there is some good news. We HAVE HOPE IN HOPELESS TIMES. Our hope is not in our unconcern government, confuse CDC, unreliable relationships, insufficient finances, but it’s in the Lord.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; all other ground is sinking sand,

In this fruitful fragment of scripture in which we have taken, you will find Jeremiah, a major prophet, also known as, the weeping prophet, walking through the streets and alleys of Jerusalem after the invasion of the Babylonians. As Jeremiah strolled through the streets he saw nothing but pain, suffering, and destruction. The book of Lamentations, just like the book of Job, picturing a man of God puzzling over the results of evil and suffering in the world. Brothers and sisters, at the heart of this book, at the center of this lament from Jeremiah, stands a statement of faith that stands strong in the midst of the surrounding devastation and judgement and it shines as a beacon light of hope to the very ones who are suffering because of their own disobedience. Though Jerusalem is experiencing the judgment of God, hope is still found under the rubbish pile of the pain, suffering, and destruction that they have encountered. The text says in verse 21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Here, what Jeremiah does is what every believer must do when he is discouraged, we must call to mind the faithfulness of God and think about what he has already done and meditate upon it until you feel better.

So, the longer we ponder on our troubles, trials, and torment. We find ourselves in the dungeon of despair. But it is when we focus on the Lord, we are then able to move from problems to praise, we will be able to move from defeat to deliverance, from hell to hallelujah.

I. The Favor of God

Judah was down, but not out. God was punishing Judah for her sin, but did not reject her as His covenant people. The truth of matter is that everybody would have been consumed if it were not for God’s mercies. Now the word ‘mercies’ is translated in the Hebrew and it literally means kindness, lovingkindness, mercy, goodness, faithfulness, love, and acts of kindness. Because of God’s kindness, He meets the needs of His creation by delivering them from their enemies and their trials; God preserves the lives of His people and redeems them from sin. What we must know is that God’s kindness is abundant, exceedingly great, without end, and it is sho nuff good. Mind you, the plural form of the noun ‘mercies’ indicates that God doesn’t do just one good thing, but rather He does many great things on behalf of His people.

God is the covenant-keeping kind of God who maintains kindness and mercy to those who love Him. because of His grace, we are still here.

Is there anybody here that can testify with me that yes, I’m a GRACE CASE! God just saved us and brought us out of some hard to reach places. When we couldn’t get to God, God came to us. I’m a victim of being arrested by grace. Grace got a grip on.

II. The Faithfulness of God

Here, the word ‘compassions’ are translated in the Hebrew as ‘womb’ and it carries the connotation meaning compassion, mercy, affection, maiden. The text said that “His compassions or ‘womb’ never fails.” So, God’s great mercy or love is a never- failing love that remains loyal and uninterrupted.

In fact, God’s love can be seen in His faithfulness when He is carrying out the curses that He promised while at the same time protecting the very people He was cursing. And some of y’all can testify that he kept you in the midst of Him whipping you. Notice church, God is strong enough to whip me and not kill me.

I have a question. Could Judah push God so far that He would forsake her? Is God’s love a limited love? Well child of God, I think Jeremiah would stand even in the midst of suffering, pain, trials, and turmoil that God has inflicted upon Jerusalem and declare without a doubt, NO, because the text said,

“they are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

III. The Faith in God

Now, the word ‘portion’ carries the Hebraic connotation literally meaning ‘inheritance.’ So, the text suggests to me that Jeremiah had a moment of reflection between himself and his soul. His soul had to take over the conversation because his self was getting sad about the situation that he saw. The spirit always sees beyond what you see.. So, where Jeremiah saw suffering, his soul saw salvation. Where he saw pain, his soul saw peace. Where he saw affliction, his soul saw a new anointing. Where he saw misery, his soul saw new mercies. So, soul said to self, “Self, please remember, the Lord is your best inheritance.”

Verses 25-26, we must understand that if we wait on God in the midst of our distress and disappointments, we will find that hope was still there. Child of God, it is the time you have between you getting in your mess and the time you coming out of you mess that you should develop an attitude toward your mess and just declare, though I’m in it, I still have hope. Though I have to go through this, everything may not be going my way, but I still have hope. Because if I continue to hope and quietly wait I’ll see the salvation of the Lord.

Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, “The New Zealander has a word for hope which signifies “the swimming-thought”; because when all other thoughts are drowned, hope still swims.”

On soap opera Days of our Lives, there was a particular episode that a couple by the name of Bo Brady and Hope Williams appeared in. Bo was severely injured and ended up in a coma. As Bo lay there in the hospital, Hope sat by his side praying and telling him how she couldn’t live without him and how he could pull through this just as he had in the past with her by his side. As Hope spoke about the many things they made it through together, surprisingly, Bo could hear her and he began to recount some of the stories that Hope mentioned. Miraculously, Bo woke up before the end of the show. It shocked everyone because the doctors said that Bo wouldn’t make it. As everyone celebrated, someone posed a question to Bo asking Bo, “what brought you back.” Bo replied, “I wanted to give up and throw in the towel, but I couldn’t do it because Hope wouldn’t let me go!!