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The Leaders hope

(Lamentation 3:23-32)

A.             Introduction
In his book Man’s search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, successor of Sigmund Freud at Vienna, argued that the ‘loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect on man.’  As a result of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl contended that when a man no longer possesses a motive for living, no future to look toward, he curls up in a corner and dies.  “Any attempt to restore a man’s inner strength in camp,” he wrote, “had first to succeed in showing him some future goal.” Indeed the loss of hope and courage have consequences beyond that of mere death of an organization, it involves also the death of people.

Today in our meditation this morning, we are going to learn the importance of the quality of hope in a leader and his followers and how a leader should encourage hope in his followers.

The passage of scripture in Lamentations 3:23-32 speaks of the leader’s hope. I would like to suggest that we look at the passage of scripture in two major headings. First is to look at the basis of our hope. On what basis do we let stand our foundations? If the foundation is strong we have a strong hope, but if it is weak, we shall then have weak hope. Hence the foundation or basis of our hope is important.

Secondly we shall look at the resultant behaviour which comes from such a hope. if our hope is strong, then we shall behave accordingly. But if our hope is weak, the way we behave betrays the hope we have within us.

Thirdly, we shall then consider the challenges given by God to us.

Before we begin our study of this passage, let me draw your attention to some background information of the lamentations of Jeremiah. The book of Lamentations is a series of poetic writings which was written by Jeremiah as a prayer to God for his people. The poem contains deep emotions as Jeremiah struggles to come to terms with the disaster that had come upon his nation.

Hence in Chapter 3  we read the words...I am a man who has seen affliction and so on. The whole of Chapter 3 preceding our passage talks of  his disappointment and depression as he sees his message being derided. 

There is bitterness and anger and disappointment. He is pierced in his heart and his soul is downcast. And yet in the midst of his sad lamentation, he manages to draw strength and courage. How did he do it? The way that Jeremiah draws strength in the midst of his suffering and lamentation is a lesson we should all learn.

Perhaps for some of us who are in the midst of difficulties and danger, and is looking at some means whereby we can short circuit this despondency and bring us to the point of hope; perhaps Jeremiah’s lesson can be instructive.

What was the first step whereby Jeremiah begins the long journey into wholesome and hopeful living. let me read the watershed of emotions...(Verses 19, 20 and 21) I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.

What was the watershed of emotions? Jeremiah was broken and bitter and his soul was downcast in verses 19 and 20. Verse 21 gives us the watershed where we read the word...Yet this I call to mind. In the face of difficulties, disappointments, defeats and despair, Jeremiah could say...and yet. Why? The reason is because he countered the depression and defeat by calling to mind his hope.

The principle is clear for us as we start our mediation on the grounds of our hope. In order for us to snap out of our despair, we need to begin a simple act of calling to mind our hope. Calling to mind is a very important step. It is an act of will in a circumstance where control is lost. Although we have lost control of our outward circumstance, we have not lost the facility to call to our mind something that will help us to overcome our outer circumstance.

 B.        The Basis of Hope
As soon as Jeremiah acted within himself through an act of will, he began the process of crawling out of the mud of despair.

 What was the hope that he called to mind? There are four things that he drew from his mind that was the basis of his hope.  These four things I shall call the four foundations of hope.

i.          The love of God (verse 22)
The first foundation is the remembrance that the God whom he loved and believed was a God of love. Let me read verse 22...Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion never fails. To Jeremiah the God he believed and trusted in was not a sadistic God who loved to bring his children through horrendous testings only to abandon them. Jeremiad’s God was a God of love. I must emphasize that the love referred to here is agape love that is self-giving love.

And because God was a loving God, He would restore and bind up the wounds that Jeremiah suffered. A God of love always had the best interest at heart for his children. A God of love would never abandon his children but will surely save. 

To us on this side of the death and resurrection of Jesus, our knowledge that God is love is far more than Jeremiad’s understanding. For now we know the extent of God’s love. He would condescend to come as a baby, to die on the cross so that he would redeem us for Himself. The love we would understand would be self-giving love and the supreme example of that love would be found in the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ..

ii.         The compassion of God (verse 22b)
The second thing that Jeremiah brought to his mind was the knowledge that God is not only loving but also compassionate and merciful. Although there is not much difference between love, compassion and mercy, there are some slight differences. Compassion on one hand is the ability to feel as the victims feel and then to have pity. Compassion is not just to sympathize alone for that would stop at pity. Pity becomes compassion when the compassionate one feels pity, empathize and then does something merciful so that the victim is relieved. 

Love on the other hand encompasses compassion and goes beyond it because the limits of the act of mercy is no less that the willingness to sacrifice one self so that the other would be relieved.

Jeremiah saw that his hope was centered and grounded in a God who was love and compassionate. He knew that the God who he loved and trusted was a God who loved him enough to even die for him if that was what it took.

If we have a God like this to back us up, a God who loves us enough to die for us, how can we despair? How can we give up? 

iii.        The faithfulness of God (verse 23)
The third foundation on which his hope was based was on the faithfulness of God. Not only was God loving and compassionate, God was also faithful. What he said he would do, he would carry out. God is faithful.

I have missionary friend who loved to say these words. “My God is a faithful God, but I am unfaithful. My unfaithfulness in no way limits his faithfulness.”

God is faithful. He is the same yesterday, today and forever more. He is faithful and will carry through what he has promised.

Sometimes people ask me why is it that God has not answered their prayer? My answer is that the time at which God would answer is not exhausted. The story as it were has not ended yet.

iv.        The ownership of God (verse 24)
Fourthly, and this is the best part, Jeremiah realized that this God in whom he believed was His god. let me read verse 24...I say to myself, “The lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.”

It must have been a wonder to him that the God of the universe, the almighty and powerful God would allow himself to be the god of a mortal man. How could such a God be the possession of Jeremiah unless it is a god of love, compassion and mercy?

 And yet this is true. The Lord is my portion can mean, God is mine or I am God’s. Whichever way this is taken, the God on whom Jeremiah hoped upon was a personal God who would allow himself to possess or be possessed by man. 

For us as we look at scripture this morning, let us be thankful that our God is a personal God. He is not a force as Star Wars would have us believe. Nor is he a God that is so transcendent that we can never ever know him as the Muslims would want us to believe. Our God is a personal God who is actively interested in us and who would take the initiative to possess us be possessed by us.

No wonder, Jeremiah could hope in such a God. No wonder this God could be the ground of his hope.

Brothers and sisters. This God in whom Jeremiah had loved and hoped is the same God who we know today. In greater measure He is supremely revealed in Jesus Christ. Would we ever lose hope again?

C.                The Behavior accompanying this hope
If our God is the God of Jeremiah, how would this impact our behaviour? A look at scripture would show us that Jeremiah behaved in a way that we can summarize as  distinctive. His behaviour has four distinctive characteristics.

 i.          We wait quietly and patiently for God to act (verse 26)
Firstly, hope grounded in such a God will produce quietude and patience. Let me read...It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of God (verse 26). There is no more striving because every thing is in God’s hands. He is in perfect control and we must be patient and quiet so that we await his handiwork to be realised. If we step into a situation and circumstance in which we have invited God to act, God will step out, because we have stepped in. But if we remain trusting, and refrain from acting, God will do his work and will help solve it for us in a most powerful and complete way.

ii.         We bear our yokes patiently and perseveringly (verse 27)
Secondly, our hope will result in our patiently bearing of our yokes. We find new strength to carry the burdens of responsibility and duty because we know that our God has allowed this for a purpose. Let me read verse 27...It is good for a man to bear his yoke  while he is young.  

Sometimes the yoke may be hard and burdensome, but we need to trade that yoke for the yoke of Jesus, then, we shall feel relief because the yoke of Jesus is light and easy.

iii.        We mourn and suffer in hope (verse 29)
Thirdly, we enabled to suffer and mourn victoriously. Let me read verse 29...Let him bury his face in the dust  there may yet be hope. When our hope is grounded in such a god, we are enabled to suffer and mourn with great dignity. 

iv.        We are able to let others take advantage of us (verse 30)
Fourthly, we are able to let others take advantage of us. let me read verse 30...Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him and let him be filled with disgrace. The ability to take a disadvantageous position shows the depth of maturity and trust in God. One who suffers loss trusts that God will make up for that loss in greater measure.