Where Do You Find Hope in the Middle of Hopelessness? Lamentations 3:20-25

One of my favorite stories is “The Donkey in the Hole”. I don’t know if it’s true. If it isn’t, it should be. A farmer's donkey fell into a dry well. The animal cried pitifully for hours as the farmer tried to get him out to no avail. The donkey was old. The well was deep. So, the farmer decided to bury him. With the help of neighbors and friends, they heaped in dirt. With each shovel full, the donkey brayed, but not without hope. With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkey's back, the donkey would shake it off and step on top of it till he stepped out of the darkness into the bright sunshine.

For the majority of the five chapters and 154 verses of Lamentations, Jeremiah paints a dismal picture of Judah’s deep hole—70 years of exile in Babylon for their idolatry. But right in the middle of despair—Lamentations 3:20-25—God gives us something to step on—remembrance.

First, remember: you can find hope in hesed—the inexhaustible, never failing love of God. Lamentations 3:22 reminds us of this:

22 The LORD's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.

Notice lovingkindnesses (hesed) is plural. There are many and varied ways God shows His love. In the context of Jeremiah and Judah, God demonstrates His unconditional love by placing His people in harsh judgment to correct their ungodly and destructive behavior of idolatry. Sometimes, God puts us in time-out to give us time to look up to Him and reflect on our relationship with a God whose love for us has no end.

Second, remember: you can find hope in hesed—the ever-faithful love of God. Lamentation 3:23 reminds us that in the hour of our great need, God show us his greater faithfulness:

23 They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness.

Whatever troubles a new day brings, God brings a new, restorative response. While friends and family can abandon you in dark times like Job experienced, God can be counted on to show up and show out with the right light.

Third, remember: you can find hope in hesed—the unconditional love of God rooted in a covenantal relationship. Lamentations 3:24 reminds us that His love is our inheritance:

24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

When God entered into a relationship with His people, He made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12, 17 and reaffirmed Jeremiah 31:33. Genesis 17:3 reminds us we have a generational hope.

And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. Gen. 17:7

Within this unbreakable relationship is a promise that God’s children will receive a portion or inheritance. The first-born got a lion’s share (Deut. 21:15-1); each tribe got a cut (Num. 33:54); we all get hesed (Roman 8:16-17).

It may be dark now, but to experience this hesed, you have to wait and seek (Lam. 3:25). While you wait, to stir up that hope, you have to purposely remember, recall and reflect on this: God’s love is inexhaustible, faithful and unconditional.

One way of intentional remembrance is keeping the ordinance of communion. “Do this in remember of me (Lk 22:19).” The me is Christ. His right response to our darkness (sin) was to give up His life out of the love of God (John 3:16).

If that don’t give you hope in despair, I don’t know what will. Where do you find hope in hopelessness? Remembrance. As the great prophet of rap profundity, Biggy Smalls, said, “If you don’t know, now you know.”