Life can be rough. I've been reading in Lamentations 3 a lot this past week. The entire first part of the chapter the prophet wrestles with his faith and unbelief under the weight of life's struggles. He's despondent, broken, and weary.
But then, everything changes in verse 21.
There are times in my life I can relate. The times when hope seems lost and the
brokenness of the world seems like it's so big it will swallow me up.
When these times hit, I need to remember
the truth of the gospel. Rather than dwell on the suffering around me, I need
to meditate and let these truths sink deep into my heart...way down into my soul.
God's love is steadfast
His mercies are new every morning
God's faithfulness is great
He is my portion and enough, therefore I
will hope in Him
God is good to those who wait quietly and
seek after Him
The beautiful thing is that the truth of
who God is and his grace in my life doesn't detract from my suffering or
dismiss it. Instead, hard times can serve a purpose. My suffering isn't wasted.
I know this because He tells me so:
We rejoice
in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance
produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not but us to
shame because the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
I love the New American Standard Version
of verse 5 that says "now hope does not disappoint." But this hope is
not in things turning out the way I want them to, or what is
"supposed" to happen, or even by me escaping trials.
My hope is in Jesus, and this hope will
never disappoint.
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