A Lament for Hope.

The prophet Jeremiah, sometimes known as the weeping prophet, felt deeply, saw clearly, and understood the true context of placing his unreserved hope in Jesus.In his book Lamentations, he withheld nothing from his true sense of being. What he felt and experienced, he wrote down using the rawest form of honesty. He writes in Lamentations 3, "I am the man who has seen affliction . . . he [God] has made my skin and flesh waste away; he has broken my bones; . . . my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; so I say, 'My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the Lord.'"Jeremiah feels as though the Lord has saught him out like a bear or a lion waits for their prey (vs. 10-11). In this passage, one would notice that the writer does not hold back anything; there is complete vulnerability. He describes this season of his life as a time where he felt abandoned, a slave that could not get away. He felt utterly bitter. Can you relate to such a time as this; a time where you felt as though a target was on your back, and you kept getting pierced in the dead center time and time again?For some of you, you may read this passage and ask yourself, "Wait, is that even ok to speak about God like that?" I know that I was taken back when I first read Lamentations. It catches most of us off guard because, for most our lives, we have lived under this expectation that we are not allowed to tell God our true feelings. We are only allowed to praise Him for the good and tell others about the "mountain" moments that He brought us to. We're taught that we can't be truthful in our pain.This lifestyle has created such an issue for Christians. By not allowing ourselves to grieve over the trials and tribulations we are facing, we miss out on the opportunity to truly experience the greatness of God's faithfulness even in the face of our darkest days. We just throw 'bandaids' on our deepest hurts and then expect them to heal on their own without any tender care. Friends, consider this: if we continue to just temporarily deal with the hurt we have, we will never be able to have healed 'scars' that show of the grace and mercy that got us through the heart-throbbing moments of pain. The hell-like moments are meant for growth, for a strengthening of heart, and ultimately to bring you closer to the Father.What I love most about this passage in Lamentations is that it does not end with the destruction of Jeremiah, rather it drastically takes a 360 degree change. Lamentations 3: 21-25 says, "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. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him."Jeremiah, even in that moment when he doubted God, was able to call to mind all the times that God had been faithful to provide, deliver, and free him in the past. Friend, the truth is that we are a unfaithful people by nature. But, I have some awesome news! Even in the midst of our adulterous hearts and our unfaithness to His love, He is faithful to follow through on His promises to never fail us and never leave us. He hears your cries and he counts your tears as they fall from your cheeks onto your pillow. He knows you and sees you and will not leave you alone. He is with you and He just wants you to be real with Him.We must deal with our hurt. Let it matter. If your heart is broken, let it shatter, then watch God heal it to where is 110% stronger than it was before. Not only this, but I urge you, if you are not in a season of lowness, to remember those low moments and let it produce a remembrance, a humility that guides your every day activities and leads to a continuous remembrance of God's faithfulness and the mercies that are new every morning. He is our hope for tomorrow.words by Joy Johnston and photo by Leah Van Otterloo