Fearless hope – 26 August 2020

Lamentations is generally a pretty depressing book. Jerusalem had fallen, the temple was destroyed, and many of the people were in exile. And this book, as its name implies, is mostly a series of laments over the condition of Jerusalem. The exception is chapter three which is a more personal lament over the author’s condition.

The first 20 verses of this chapter express his distress over God’s punishment. And it comes along with a feeling of abandonment and hopelessness. But all is not dark. There is still a ray of hope that he clings to.

There is no escaping the fact that the world can be a scary place.

Christian hope is fearless and bold. Our hope declares that even in the darkest times, God’s light still shines. When we are afraid, God remains in control of the universe.

To those who do not know the Lord, our hope might seem like a crazy virtue.

But because of the great love God has for us, we have reason for hope without fear. We can know that we are safe in the care of a faithful and powerful God. We can boldly hope in God and in the promises God makes to us.

We need hope because, like the author of Lamentations, the world is not yet the way God intends it to be and we are waiting for things to get better. Hope means believing in the light even when we are in the darkness. Hope opens us to have joy whatever the facts may be.

Prayer: Faithful God, thank you for giving us reason to hope fearlessly, even when our lives are difficult and the world seems like a scary place. Thank you for being true to your promises. Amen