DARE to HOPE!

“Yet I still DARE to HOPE when I remember this: ²² The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. ²³ Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will HOPE in him! ²⁵ The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. ²⁶ So it is good to WAIT quietly for salvation from the Lord.”

~Lamentations 3:21-26 NLT

“Yet I still DARE to HOPE”… is an incredible phrase from the lips of the prophet Jeremiah who is known in Christians circles as the “WEEPING PROPHET”.

I wonder “HOW” many of us think of HOPE as a DARING move?

When it comes to DARING moves we often think of a tightrope walker, a free climber, a motocross racer, a firefighter, a police officer, a solider, etc.

The TRUTH is, we rarely think of HOPE as a DARING action on our part. In fact, we often throw the word “HOPE” around so flippantly in our Christian world these days that I often think it has lost so much of its full impact.

BUT Jeremiah understood how “DARING” an attitude of HOPE can be like the one he writes about in the above passage.

WHY?

Well, to understand how “DARING” this attitude really is one has to READ the preceding description of Jeremiah’s life found in chapter 3 of the book of Lamentations:

“I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord’s anger. ² He has led me into darkness, shutting out all light. ³ He has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. ⁴ He has made my skin and flesh grow old. He has broken my bones. ⁵ He has besieged and surrounded me with anguish and distress. ⁶ He has buried me in a dark place, like those long dead. ⁷ He has walled me in, and I cannot escape. He has bound me in heavy chains. ⁸ And though I cry and shout, he has shut out my prayers. ⁹ He has blocked my way with a high stone wall; he has made my road crooked. ¹⁰ He has hidden like a bear or a lion, waiting to attack me. ¹¹ He has dragged me off the path and torn me in pieces, leaving me helpless and devastated. ¹² He has drawn his bow and made me the target for his arrows. ¹³ He shot his arrows deep into my heart. ¹⁴ My own people laugh at me. All day long they sing their mocking songs.¹⁵ He has filled me with bitterness and given me a bitter cup of sorrow to drink. ¹⁶ He has made me chew on gravel. He has rolled me in the dust. ¹⁷ Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. ¹⁸ I cry out, “My splendour is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” ¹⁹ The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words.” ~Lamentations 3:1-19 NLT

WOW! It is against this backdrop that Jeremiah shouts out his proclamation of HOPE!

The REALITY is..

LIFE can be difficult. Just ASK Jeremiah!

LIFE can be challenging even at the best of times! Just ASK Jeremiah!

LIFE can be a struggle some days just to survive! Just ASK Jeremiah!

BUT despite the obstacles, despite the situations or the circumstances that we may be facing there is ALWAYS room for HOPE!

We can DARE to HOPE because the FAITHFUL LOVE of God NEVER ends!

We can DARE to HOPE  because His MERCIES NEVER cease!

We can DARE to HOPE because He is FAITHFUL to NEVER leave us or abandon us!

We can DARE to HOPE because His MERCIES begin AFRESH each morning!

We can DARE to HOPE because He is DEPENDABLE through it all!

We can DARE to HOPE because through it all our SALVATION  is in Him!

DARING to HOPE when LIFE is tough, when LIFE is difficult, is one of the STRONGEST and sometimes HARDEST things you and I will ever do!

BUT it is the exact thing that we need more than anything to get us through WHATEVER we may be facing in this thing called the journey of life and faith!

SEEKING a DARING SPIRIT today and always,

Rev Trev