Write 31: Hope

  Lamentations 3:18-21, "And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the LORD:  Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.  My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope."

  Lamentations 3:24, "The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."
 
  Lamentations 3:26, "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD." 

{Start.}

Hope.  We use the word so much in American English.
"I hope I don't get stuck in traffic." 
"I hope my family gets to make it for Christmas."
"I hope my dinner isn't burned when I get home."
 The words here in Lamentations penned by Jeremiah (the Weeping Prophet) aren't the same, though.  In Jeremiah's case, he knew that God was One in Whom he could trust, one that never fails nor lets His people down.  
  When we put our hope in God, we are putting our trust in Him.  We wait on Him for whatever outcome He sees best.  We exercise patience and we watch to see what He will do on His behalf.  Yes, I did say on His behalf and not on mine.  Sometimes when I watch His hand to see what He will do, if I am expecting Him to do things exactly my way, I'll wind up disappointed, but when I expect Him to cause the right plan to unfold, (the plan that will bring Him the most glory and adoration), then whatever He allows to happen, (whether I would normally consider it good or not), must be in His control and must be exactly what He wanted. 
Three things: 
  In the first verses, Jeremiah remembered what the Lord had done before when he was in a miserable state. Jeremiah could take comfort from that.
  In the second verse, Jeremiah remembered that the Lord was his inheritance, rich and wonderful.
  In the last verse, Jeremiah reminded himself of something that is good to do: to hope and quietly wait for the Lord's deliverance. {Stop.} 
 I should trust that the Lord will bring about the right outcome (in other words, hope) without getting frustrated in the process (quietly wait) and I should expect that the Lord will come through at the right time (quietly wait) without getting discouraged through the minutes--or decades--that tick by.
  My Lord is good!  He is my Hope and I will trust in Him!