It is one of the most depressing books in the
Bible. It's very name, Lamentations, means the
passionate expression of grief or sorrow. It is a book about when the worst happens, when
the unthinkable happens. It tells of a time when everything lies in ruins,
families are split apart; all the things that matter most are totally destroyed.
When the carnage and grief are so great there seems nothing left to do but weep. It is a time when it seems all hope is lost.
So it is ironic that
in its pages we have one of the most positive, uplifting expressions of hope in
the Bible. In Lamentations 3:21-23 we read,
“This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have
hope. The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never
fail. They are new every morning; Great
is Your faithfulness.”
Even in the worst of
time, when it feels and looks like God has left his people, and it seems He has
had enough of them and their sin, the prophet remember something very important
about God.
He is a God of second chances.
He is a God of second chances.
Just like the sun
rises again each day giving each of us a new start, God’s love and mercy are always
there willing to let us start over. There
will always be a new start with God. No matter how messed up your life
becomes, no matter how badly things seem, God can get you back to square one. A
new start. A chance to move forward. A brand new day.
Hope.
Hope, like love it
is one of those ridiculously disproportionate words that by all rights should be
a lot longer. Nothing so small should mean so much.
Don’t think that “I’ve
gone too far and he won't take me back”. Don’t believe that you can't rebuild with
what’s left. As long as you are willing to come back, he will be there to run
to you, embrace you and welcome you home. When everything else has failed you he won’t.
He can get you back to where you need to be going.
He gives us Hope.
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