Hope is in the Waiting

Listen:

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24)

Reflect:

In preparation for writing this reflection, I got out my Bible and began looking at notes I’d written in the margins and on scraps of paper tucked in the back cover, at verses I’d highlighted that had held me safe. It was more emotional than I thought it would be as I was taken back through the years, so many times of waiting on the Lord that I’d forgotten about – remembering the good, the bad and the ugly. How I resonated with the prophet Jeremiah who wrote a whole book aptly titled “Lamentations”!

He said, “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”

I didn’t like remembering. I didn’t want to think of the death of my unborn baby, of betrayals, stupid decisions, or of times I hurt someone. Memories can leave us with guilt, shame, self-loathing. Yet God gave us memories so that we WILL remember – in order to remember every time He was there, to remember His goodness, His faithfulness, His provision, His salvation, His great love.

After 3 chapters of remembering all the appalling things he’d lived through, Jeremiah stops. He looks at his list, and his heart hurts. Then he makes a deliberate choice – “Yet this I call to mind…” – to live in the lament or to live in hope. He chose hope. Hope is in the waiting. Because God Himself is in the waiting. 

I hate waiting. When I need God to do something, I want it now. The impatience dissipates when I remember that verses on waiting are coupled with hope, joy and peace.

When you’re playing your own video of lament: Stop. Choose to live in hope. Choose to remember that to wait on God’s answer, voice or promise is an essential part of your walk with God. And remember that God Himself is with you in the waiting.

Prayer of Response:

Lord, Jesus, I’m waiting… and I choose to live in your hope. Thank you that you are with me in this, and I ask for courage to continue to trust in you, that your timing is perfect.

Questions to Ponder:

What does waiting on the Lord look like?

How do you react when you’re waiting on the Lord? What do you do in the waiting?

Do any of the following verses speak to you? 

Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62:5; Psalm 130:5-6; Proverbs 20:22; Isaiah 30:18; Isaiah 40:31; Isaiah 30:18; Isaiah; Isaiah 64:4; Lamentations 3:25; Exodus 14:14

—Submitted by Audrey Jose
Audrey has been involved with Lifesprings since 2007 and currently leads the Peace Amidst Conflict Training team. She and her husband serve with Radstock Ministries (www.radstock.org) which is committed to church planting and offers coaching, expertise and opportunities worldwide for mission and church partnerships. They divide their time between Canada where they are part of a recent church plant in their town, and Albania where they mentor Albanian missionaries serving in Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania and Bosnia.