Friend, what’s on your calendar? You see, our day-timers don’t merely mark dates and appointments. Actually they hold far deeper meaning. Our calendars are daily reminders of God’s goodness and His promises to us.
Need some encouragement? So did the “weeping prophet” Jeremiah.
21 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!”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
26 It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
(Lamentations 3:21-26 NKJV)
In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah recounts Israel’s long and bitter years of enslavement in Babylon. The imagery is stark and painful. But suddenly hope breaks through the darkness in this poetic passage above. Jeremiah looks both backward and forward to see God’s goodness in every season of life. He glimpses eternity.
“This I recall to my mind…”
Here Jeremiah remembers. He looks back and reminds himself of God’s faithfulness in the past. By looking back and remembering God’s past goodness the weeping prophet was strengthened to look forward in hope. Looking back helped him look ahead.
“His compassions fail not. They are new every morning…”
Each day a new beginning. Jeremiah sees God’s love and mercy afresh each day. The Lord is his daily portion and provision. He experiences a fresh dose of God’s love each morning. Therefore he can live with hope in the here and now regardless of circumstances.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,… it is good that one should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Waiting speaks of hopeful anticipation and expectation. Biblical waiting hopes for and expects God’s rescue to come in the future.
In Romans 8:24-25 the apostle Paul reminds us that: ”For in this hope we were saved (past tense). But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”
Past, present, and future. Here Paul expresses a past tense assurance of his salvation that also empowers him to live with a hopeful eye toward the future. He’s persuaded the best is yet to come. His confident expectation of God’s goodness overrides all the present trials and adversities.
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work among you will complete it by the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6 NASB)
Bible hope covers ALL of our lives. Hope spans all of time and eternity. And it hopes all of the time, not some of the time. “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT).
Both the Old Testament prophet and the New Covenant apostle understood and recognized God’s hand in every moment of life. Today, for you and me, that means we can greet each day and boldly trust God with a confident expectation of good because His plans for us are good.
Israel’s years of distress and bondage were not the end of her story. Let’s hear the prophet Jeremiah again…
10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.
I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” (Jeremiah 29:10-14)
God promised His beloved nation a restoration of both body and spirit. A returning to Him marked by a revival of the heart that would birth genuine relationship with Him to supersede all religious rituals. And the ancient promise is fulfilled in you and me today!
Friends, God has a plan. He always does. A good plan to save, to heal, and to deliver us. Today His plan for you and me is even more glorious than His Old Covenant plan because of His Son, Jesus, and His perfect work at the Cross for our sakes. He who has begun a good work in you is committed to completing it. He is committed to YOU!
My prayer:
“Teach me to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)
Teach me to appreciate the gift of time and to invest my days wisely. Cause me to recognize Your loving hand at work every day in my life… past, present, and future… and strengthen me to move forward in hope. Because, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the best is yet to come. Amen.”