Daring to Hope

“I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.” — Lamentations 3:21-23

It’s easy to sing God’s praises when times are good, but when times are bad…Other biblical writers let God have it when times are bad. But here Jeremiah praises the LORD. The Jeremiah’s situation was like the Great Depression and losing a World War all rolled into one. I love how he acknowledges that he will never forget this awful time. It’s a painful memory. It’s the worst possible scenario unfolding. Yet midst despair and utter darkness, he dares to hope.

Hope in itself is profound. It’s more life sustaining the air itself. It’s the dare part that strikes me. There’s a sense of recognition in the dare. It’s not a blind hope. It’s a recognition of the awful time. Hope would seem a silly child’s dream. Yet he dares to do it. Why? Because he knows God. He knows hope is not lost. So he dares to hope, even though if hope doesn’t materialize it will make the despair even greater. It’s profound faith. It’s profound risk. Because the only thing that can make the situation worse if it hope is gone.

If you dare to hope you put it out there and risk that it will be taken away. Hope for eternity certainly never fails, but hope for this time and this place is risky. Do you dare to hope when your back is against the wall? To do so is to take a step of faith. To dream of God’s desired outcome and take part through prayer in seeing it happen.

I confess I’ve been in both places. I’ve dared to hope. And then when that hope begins to fade, I’ve lashed out and said to hell with hope. Then, I’ve realized my error and held on to hope like it was life itself. I want to be a man that dares to hope. That when life is bleak and dark, I can remember that His faithfulness never ends and His mercies never cease. And by that memory, I will dare to hope.