Jeremiah 5: If all else fails: Have Hope!

Lamentations 3 

Along with his prophetic words and deeds, we have a record of the heart-wrenching anguish that Jeremiah experienced in the Book of Lamentations.  In his laments, Jeremiah described being walled about so that no escape is possible, (he was at times imprisoned), of sitting in darkness without any light, of being a laughingstock and the target of taunts, of living with a soul bereft of peace. But in the midst of this serious depression, still Jeremiah had hope because “the steadfast love of God never ceases.”   Now it is true that the verses of anguish far outnumber the verses of hope in Lamentations, yet still there is hope.  Is hope the one thing that we cannot live without?  As we celebrate a Thanksgiving with little to none of our usual celebrations, we can be thankful that our faith gives us hope, in ourselves, in our human creativity and compassion, and in our God whose steadfast love never ends. 

17 My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is.
21 But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for one to bear the yoke in youth,
28 to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it,
31 For the Lord will not reject forever.
32 Although he causes grief, he will have compassion
    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;
33 for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone.

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