“Hope in Your Deepest Valley”
New Years Eve Sunday 2023
Lamentations 3:21-24 “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. 22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,“Therefore I hope in Him!”
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Now, the context for these passages is that Jeremiah is watching the people of Judah being carried into captivity by the Babylonians for their sin.
Though he had warned them for decades, they never listened, heeded, or repented.
He describes in heartrending, vivid language:
The cruelty with which Judah was treated,
The tragedy of their losing everything,
And the heartbreaking sight of them being carried away to a foreign land as prisoners in chains.
If you read 3:4-16, the prophet describes the sufferings of his people as if it were all happening to himself:
He talks of being sick and injured,
dead and buried,
a prisoner,
tortured,
a traveler making slow progress,
attacked by wild animals,
a target of arrows,
an object of ridicule,
and having to eat bitter and contaminated food.
All these were the experiences of Judah leading up to and during their captivity.
So its not a pretty picture, which is why the book is called “Lamentations” meaning “sorrow, mourning, and regret.”
Their city was completely destroyed, and the fantastic, glorious Temple built by Solomon was burned to the ground.
All that they had built and accomplished as God’s chosen people was now smoldering ashes, their glory days kept alive only in the hallways of their memory.
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The casual observer watching from a distance could only shake his head and declare them finished, hopeless, one and done.
But then the Prophet Jeremiah does something that everyone in a tough place should pay attention to:
3:21 “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”
Jeremiah suddenly turns his attention to three things that pulled him out of his despondency into HOPE:
God’s Mercies
God’s Compassions, and
God’s Faithfulness!
So first,
I. God’s mercies
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.”—3:22
Mercy is God not giving us what we DO deserve, while Grace is God giving us what we DON’T deserve.
In his deepest valley, Jeremiah reminds himself that God is a God of mercy and it’s:
“Because of His mercies we are not consumed.”—vs. 22
As far as the Jewish captives were concerned,
Languishing in captivity
under a strange people
in a strange land
speaking a foreign language
nothing in their circumstances gave them hope…
It looked like they WOULD indeed be consumed, which literally means “to be finished, done, nothing left.”
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But Jeremiah took hope that God’s mercies would not allow them to be finished off for good!
The Apostle Paul wrote something very similar:
2 Cor. 4:8-9 “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
We as believers sometimes experience trials and troubles, some are very intense, soul-wringing, gut-wrenching trials!
But God has His hand on the temperature dial and will not allow our trials to finish us off!
Paraphrased, Paul says “I’m in a pressure cooker of stress and trial, but not finished off!”
“I’m uncertain about which path to take, which decision to make, but I’m not finished off!”
“I’m being persecuted for my faith, made fun of at work, whispered about behind my back, but I’m not finished off!”
“I’ve been taken to the mat, knocked off my feet, down for the count, but because of His mercies I’m not finished off!”
Thank God for His tender mercies!!
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Then secondly, Jeremiah focused on:
II. God’s compassions
He says, “His compassions fail not!”
The Lord’s compassions never run out, never fail, and never change.
In fact, the Prophet says, “They are new every morning!”
The NRV says, “Every morning he shows it in new ways!”
More often than not we don’t stop to consider God’s “new every morning” compassions toward us:
—The first one is—you woke up!
—Then he gives you strength for the day.
—Then he provides for your needs.
—And then he creates opportunities—“As we have opportunity to do good to all people” (Galatians 6:10)
—When you open His Word, He speaks to you!
—He daily protects you from Satan’s destruction
—He daily gives you peace in your heart
—And no doubt He daily places His angels around you
Every day we receive from the Lord physical blessings, opportunities, protection, providence, Angelic help and renewed forgiveness.
They are NEW every morning!
And lastly, Jeremiah brought to mind:
III. God’s faithfulness
He seems to almost shout it out—“Great is your faithfulness!”—vs. 23
David declares in Ps 36:6, “his faithfulness reaches to the skies.”
Deut 7:9 “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps his promises…”
Faithfulness means God can be counted on without fear of disappointment.
The Hebrew word we translate into faithful and faithfulness means to prop up, hold steady, or to support.
When applied to a person, it means someone you can safely lean and rely on.
The Greek word used in the New Testament means trustworthy or to be relied upon.
Faithfulness speaks of reliability, firmness, stability, trustworthiness, trueness, certainty, steadiness, permanence and dependability.
God’s Faithfulness is unchanging.
His Faithfulness never wavers.
His Faithfulness is a foundation that can be safely built on with no worries it will ever change.
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The Faithfulness of God speaks to the core of His character.
God is always faithful to Himself and to us.
He will DO what He said He would DO.
Not one of His good promises will fail.
When John the Revelator saw Jesus returning to earth on a white horse he said:
“Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True,”—Rev.19:11
His very name is FAITHFUL!
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When God says He will do something,
There is no obstacle,
no hindrance,
no devil in hell that can hinder Him from doing what He said He would do.
Once God has spoken it’s impossible for those words to return without completing the task they were sent to do.
Isaiah 55:11 says, “So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it.”
Joshua declared to Israel, “Not one word of all His good promises have failed.”—Joshua 21:45
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While living in this godless, backslidden and reprobate culture, we can safely lean on our faithful God:
2 Thes. 3:3 says “But the Lord is faithful; he will make you strong and guard you from satanic attacks of every kind.”
When we’re tempted and tested, He is faithful to not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist, but opens a way of escape so we can bear it. (1 Cor. 10:13)
When we sin and confess it, He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins…” (1 John 1:9)
And if Satan has convinced you God won’t forgive you, just REMEMBER:
NOAH got drunk.
JACOB lied.
JOSEPH was abused.
MOSES was a fugitive.
GIDEON was fearful.
RAHAB was a prostitute.
DAVID was a murderer and adulterer.
ELIJAH was suicidal.
PETER denied Christ 3 times.
The DISCIPLES fell asleep in Jesus’s darkest hour.
MARY MAGDALENE was demon possessed.
PAUL was a murderer.
But God forgave them all because He’s FAITHFUL to His promises!
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So when you want to throw in the towel or are feeling overwhelmed in life, remember that God is faithful to:
provide,
uplift,
comfort,
strengthen,
and support you.
Your immediate circumstances may not change, but God will provide you with all that you need to persevere.
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So by recalling these three things—God’s MERCIES, God’s COMPASSIONS, and God’s FAITHFULNESS—Jeremiah went from the valley of despair to hope!