Therefore I Hope in Him!

"This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"
(Lamentations 3:21-24)

The children of Israel were in a tough place because of their own doing. They sinned against their God and now they were suffering because of it. God was dealing with their spiritual condition.

Chapter 3 of Lamentations begins with a pity-party by Jeremiah, the Prophet, "I am the man who has seen the affliction by the rod of His wrath...He has made me walk in darkness and not in light...He has aged my flesh and surrounded me with bitterness and weariness..."

Whoa! (Or maybe it should be, Woe!) Have you ever sounded like that? I have. How sad, but how true.

But then, look what Jeremiah did beginning in verse 21, "This I recall to my mind, THEREFORE I have hope."

WHAT does he recall?

"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness."

Jeremiah REMEMBERED the Lord's mercies!

The Hebrew word for mercies is hesed (heh-said) meaning "covenant love."

COVENANT love. I treasure this! "Through the Lord's COVENANT LOVE we are not consumed..."

God cannot help but love His children because of the covenant that links us together, "I will be your God and You will be My people." His covenant love (mercies) is also related to His attributes of compassion, steadfastness, truth, faithfulness and goodness.

And for these reasons, Jeremiah had hope.

What is the take-away? Notice the progression of Jeremiah's response to his desperate situation. First, he had a pity-party. Then he took authority over his thoughts and began to remind himself of God's mercy. Next, Jeremiah spoke directly to the Lord, "Great is Your faithfulness." And lastly, his soul took hold of the truth...

"The Lord is my portion (my inheritance)," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

Bless You, Lord! Thank You for Your covenant Love, for Your faithfulness!! You are an amazing God and I love You. Help us take hold of what it means to be in covenant with You, to understand that You are our portion - our inheritance. Wow!! Sometimes I think it is bigger than we can grasp. Thank You for sharing a small part of this enormous truth with us through this lesson. I ask You to let it take root and bear fruit in our lives for Your glory.