Therefore We Have Hope

Has your light gone out? Has the trial become too much for you? John Henry Jowett describes this as a time when “there is no fire in the grate and the light is gone out.” Dear friend, take courage from the words of Jeremiah, called by many “the Weeping Prophet” because of the tumultuous times he lived in. He says in the midst of his own desolation, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new ever morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:21-24). I see so many things in these few verses. It is the soul that must override the mind. While Jeremiah had the “feeling” that his prayers were being shut out (see Lamentations 3:8), yet his soul knew something different. It was his soul that said “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him.” Pay more attention to the things of the soul. He knew this: with the Lord, there is always hope. And that leads to this: the Lord still has something He is going to do. There are two unstoppable forces at work in your life though it seems everything is against you. God’s love and mercy will conquer all adversity. Also, always remember that tomorrow is a new day. God’s love and mercy are new every morning and that fact gives you the new day. I truly believe in the theology of “the new day.” I have had times when I felt as though I was in such a deep, dark hole that there was no way out. I thought even the Lord could not find me there. And then God does something to turn the tide. The face of your trial can change in many ways. Perhaps God brings a new comfort within, to calm your heart. Or He may cause the waves to stop. He may bring relief from an unexpected direction. Jowett, in his book, The Silver Lining, says, “If He purposes my perfection, then all my circumstances will be made to conspire to the accomplishment of His will…Sorrow can accomplish what comfort would always fail to do.” Sometimes it takes the tempest to bring out the music. Jowett goes on to say, “Have we not known men whose lives have not given out any entrancing music in the day of a calm prosperity, but who, when the tempest drove against them, have astonished their fellows by the power and strength of their music.” And so, what is this word “hope” all about? I think of it in terms of this: HOPE--Holding On With Patient Expectation. It is not a passive resignation, but a steadfast determination that sees the invisible God with the eyes of the heart. Perhaps that is why Paul prayed for the Ephesians that the eyes of their heart would be “enlightened” (Ephesians 1:18). He said this: “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the sains, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might…” (Ephesians 1:16-19). I share all these things in light of what happened in London today. We live in tumultuous times. Jesus warned us of these days. He said that lawlessness would increase. And He also said that the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12). And have we not seen exactly this! But then He issues forth the exhortations to His beloved church. He calls us to endure to the end and to continue to proclaim the gospel throughout the whole world (Matthew 24:13-14). That is why I send this encouragement to all who are discouraged, hopeless, feeling as though your light has gone out. We are living in desperate times. But take courage—Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). Nothing can ever separate you from Him. God bless you as you continue to draw near to Him.