Where have you placed your hopes?
Have you ever thought about hope not just as something you desire to have in the future, but as where you are placing your trust? We don’t just hope for something, we hope in something or someone. What or who we place our hopes in is where we are putting our trust.
We may place our hopes and trust in ourselves, family members, or our jobs or income. We may place our hopes and trust in economies, governments or businesses. Having to wait gives us a chance to see where our trust is. As followers of Jesus, we are called to put our trust in Him, the Creator of the Universe, the Savior of the world. But because we are so busy and distracted, we often slip into trusting other people or entities rather than Him. If you are having to wait, notice where your trust is, what you have put your hope in today.
Psalm 62 is a prayer that reminds us who we are waiting for and whom we are placing our hope in: God. These verses remind us of the character of God, past, present, and future, and encourage us to pour all of our hearts out before Him because he can be trusted.
Lamentations is a challenging book. It is a song of lament in the darkest time of Israel’s history, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the exile to Babylon. Yet in the very center of this lament, a powerful perspective in the midst of great suffering is revealed. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…” In the midst of the darkest times, we are encouraged to remember the character of the Lord who loves us and this love never ceases. This gives us hope. God is worthy of our trust.
Scriptures
5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah
17 my soul is bereft of peace;
I have forgotten what happiness is;
18 so I say, “My endurance has perished;
so has my hope from the Lord.”
19 Remember my affliction and my wanderings,
the wormwood and the gall!
20 My soul continually remembers it
and is bowed down within me.
21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.