Why I have hope in God

Yovella Ball, 24th Mar 2020
Tags: Life Blog Father God Grief Hope

One of my favourite passages in the Bible is from Lamentations 3:22-26. It says:

"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 who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."

Image Credit: Izabelle Acheson

Lamentations is a book made up of 5 chapters of grief and despair, as the writer describes the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, mourning what has been lost.

This striking passage is found in the middle of chapter 3, a firm declaration of hope, surrounded by the very real human experiences of loss and grief.

This passage is effectively the calm in the storm.

I am grounded by the hope I have in Jesus Christ.

In this current state of confusion, uncertainty, and, to an extent, despair, I am grounded by the hope I have in Jesus Christ.

Image Credit: Edwin Andrade

“The Lord is my portion”, as it says in the passage above, which means "He is enough for me".

I choose to live a life of peace, given to me by God.

By putting my hope in the Lord, I choose to live a life of peace, given to me by God, without ignoring the storm around me.

This book does not deny suffering or claim that we should ignore negative emotions like grief. Instead, it tells us that it is natural and human to feel such things.

However, it does make it clear that our experiences should not be the grounding of our reality.

I believe that truth exists on two levels. There is the truth of our experience, and the ultimate truth, which is God. 

Both are valid and 'true', but only one is without change and so worthy of being the centre of our reality.

This is why I hope in the Lord.