It's a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God
Life can be rough. We don't always know how we will make it. Things don't always make sense. But I am so thankful that God is our source, our help, our shelter, our provider, and our healer. Whatever we need, we can trust God to come through. I love this portion of scripture, Israel is at it's lowest low...there didn't seem to be any hope, and in the midst of listing out all of the bad things going on, the prophet just had to share the hope that comes from trusting in God. Whatever is going on in your life, remember "It's a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God".
Lamentations 3:19-36
It’s a Good Thing to Hope for Help from God
19-21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:
22-24 God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He’s all I’ve got left.
25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
to stick it out through the hard times.
28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The “worst” is never the worst.
31-33 Why? Because the Master won’t ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
in throwing roadblocks in the way:
34-36 Stomping down hard
on luckless prisoners,
Refusing justice to victims
in the court of High God,
Tampering with evidence—
the Master does not approve of such things.
