When anxiety or discouragement cause your mind to tense up like a balloon about to burst, hope
lets the air out.
When fears and frustrations press in on your chest like a weighted blanket, hope gently replaces
the feeling with a down comforter.
I have experienced a similar range of emotions this summer. When such raw feelings approach, I
meet Jesus in the Word. One of my favorite passages to elicit hope is found in Lamentations
3:21-24.
Jeremiah is recalling the destruction of Jerusalem. Such emphasis on his circumstances led to
feelings of isolation, thoughts of despair, and even hopelessness. Jeremiah’s emotions turned
hopeful as he counted his blessings.

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.
Lamentations 3:21-22

The Lord’s undying love and loyalty do not withdraw from us in hard times. He is personal,
present, and active. Jesus acknowledges our pain and distributes tailor-made mercies for us on a
daily basis.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:23

You can tell the person who seeks God in difficult circumstances. They begin to recognize His
provision as they focus on His blessings, identifying His mercies. They arrive at Jeremiah’s
conclusion, “Great is God’s faithfulness!”
Counting our blessings restores hope, a confident expectation that God cares about us and is
taking care of us.

“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
Lamentations 3:24

I am not surprised that Jeremiah brackets his thoughts in these verses with the same phrase, “I
have hope” (3:21, 24). He has learned to depend upon the Lord.
I encourage you to do the same. Restore hope. Count your blessings. Identify God’s tangible
mercies each day. Such a practice removes the raw experience of the present and replaces it with
an anticipation of God’s goodness in the future.

Love and blessings,
Dave