| by Rick Warren |
“Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The Lord's unfailing
love and mercy still continue, fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise.
The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my hope.” (Lamentations 3:21-24
GNT)
Pain is a natural part of life. You
can’t escape it. Broken relationships, missed opportunities, and rough seasons
of life will always be with us. When they do come, you can either become bitter
or hopeful.
The choice is yours.
Jeremiah faced the same choice. When
his world came apart after Jerusalem was sacked in 586 B.C., the prophet wrote
the book of Lamentations to share his honest frustrations with God. But he
didn’t settle in his bitterness and stay there.
In Lamentations 3:21-24, after
sharing his bitter feelings, he wrote, “Yet hope returns when I remember this
one thing: The Lord's unfailing love and mercy still continue, fresh as the
morning, as sure as the sunrise. The Lord is all I have, and so in him I put my
hope” (GNT).
In the midst of a terrible situation,
Jeremiah changed his perspective. It’s healthy and good for us to be honest
with God about our feelings, but you have to eventually change your
perspective. As long as our minds are on our pain, we won’t solve anything.
Instead, like Jeremiah, we need to
recognize God’s great love for us. Jeremiah changed his perspective and
recognized the enduring mercies of God. No matter what the problem, no matter
how much anger you’ve spewed at God, he still loves you. It’s a constant you
can depend upon — no matter what.
The longer you focus on what
depresses you, the longer your depression will last. Bitterness keeps you
caught in your own pain. In Lamentations 3, Jeremiah gives you a simple cure
for bitterness: change how you think.
In the midst of a depressing tirade,
Jeremiah says, “Yet hope returns …”
How can you have hope even in your
darkest days? You remember, “The Lord’s unfailing love and mercy still
continue.”
You can count on that! His mercies
are as fresh as the morning and as sure as the sunrise.
Talk About It
- What
makes hope a choice when we’re going through troubles?
- What
practices can you make a part of your life during difficult times that’ll
keep hope at the forefront?
*** *** ***
Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in
Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches.
Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His
book, "The Purpose Driven Church,"
was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is
also the founder of Pastors.com,
a global Internet community for pastors.
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