Hope in the Morning (Lamentations 3:21-23)
Have you ever noticed how the heaviest thoughts seem to wait until the house is completely quiet, right before the dawn? It is in those moments, when our worries press in, that the prophet’s words in Lamentations 3:21-23 offer a lifeline: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Notice that hope does not just happen to us. It requires an intentional act of the heart. The prophet chooses to “call to mind” God’s love right in the middle of deep grief. Grace is already there, waiting for us, but we are invited to actively pivot our attention toward it, cooperating with God’s Spirit to find a way forward. These verses are especially powerful because they are found in the middle of a book filled with grief and sorrow. Lamentations mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the suffering of God's people after the Babylonian conquest. Rather tha...