There is nothing worse than being totally consumed with something. Try as we may our mind continues to find that resting spot where despair lingers. We try to redirect our thinking to something else and quickly we realize we are chewing on the same thoughts...thoughts that seem to consume us. It is believed that Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah following the destruction of Jerusalem. How he must have despaired over what was lost. Never could he have imagined that circumstances would lead to such a desolate landscape. He lamented that to remember was to acknowledge how afflicted he felt. He wrote that to remember was to consider that he was a man wandering around in a temporary land. He didn’t want to be there…he longed for the beauty of his lost land. Yet, he chose to call to mind a weapon to fight his own thoughts…the weapon is called hope based on God’s great love and compassionate character. He reminded himself that he could go to God every morning for His comfort and faithfulness. He knew that while he had no control over the wait, he did have control over the hope. And so, in his temporary life situation he set his mind on hope.
Do you long for the beauty of your lost land? Do you lament over the things of the past and long for the things of the future? We all have experienced loss and affliction where we must continuously walk through that land to get to the other side. The one thing that most afflictions have in common is that waiting is involved…waiting to see if the treatment will work…waiting to see if your child comes home …waiting to see if you get that job. Jeremiah states that though his thoughts seem to consume him, he turns his mind to God, and as a result experiences hope. ‘This ‘hope’ is not a denial of his suffering; the suffering remains completely real. But by turning his mind to God, the author, in effect, places his suffering and himself in God’s hands. And in God’s hands, there is always hope. Strengthened by hope, the author is prepared to wait expectantly for God to act…whatever God does will be the author’s portion and he can be content with that’ The Applied Old Testament Commentary, p. 1145.
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” Isaiah 40:31.
“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” Isaiah 40:31.
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