This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                   Lamentations 3:21-25 

We all need hope. Not wishful thinking or some “pie in the sky” philosophy. No, we need real hope, a hope that is sure, steadfast, and true. Well, we have that hope and His name is Jesus.

“I recall to my mind…” That is what the writer tells us. He is pondering truths about God that provide him with hope. If only we could learn the value of focusing our minds on truth of scripture and meditating on those promises, we could change the very existence in which we live. Hope comes from knowing certain things and it is on these things that the writers recalls.

First, he remembers that the Lord is a loving God. If we proceed down the path of doctrine and theological assumptions and forget that God is perfect love, we are destined to make serious errors in our speculations and conclusions. God is love (1 John 4:8). He embodies what none of us on this earth could ever do, loving others with a perfect and never ending love.

But secondly, the writer recalls that God is kind. This is perfectly reasonable since the very descriptions of love are kindness and patience (1 Corinthians 13:4). All too often, perhaps because of someone’s raising or just being introduced to bad doctrine, many walk away believing that God is a harsh, tyrannical God and that He does not possess any of the qualities so often expressed in scripture. This is why we need to experience His love and kindness for ourselves. As we meditate on the things of scripture, allowing His Spirit to speak to us, we can live in the perfect knowledge of knowing God’s love and kindness.

Thirdly, the writer reflects on the compassion of God. Compassion is the ability to empathize and relate to one’s suffering or struggle. It is the capacity to understand and to care. When we have concern for the misfortunes of others, we are exercising compassion. God is a God of great compassion. Just as love and kindness describe Him, so too does compassion. He is quite familiar with our plight and has done everything necessary for us to come out victorious over our circumstances and to live with Him for eternity (Hebrews 4:15-16).

What gives the writer hope is that he is recalling that God’s love and kindness never cease. In other words they are constant. We cannot alter this reality even when we fail. This is quite contrary to the message that our performance has some sort of bearing on God’s love, kindness, and compassion. But His love and kindness never cease and His compassion never fails. This is the essence of hope!

But the writer doesn’t stop there. He then reflects on God’s faithfulness to us. Again, His faithfulness is not disrupted because of our failure to be faithful. While we should seek Him with all of our hearts, even when we stray, His faithfulness still exists and is still at work in our lives. This is why we can say that His faithfulness to us is indeed “great.”

God’s love, kindness, compassion, and faithfulness are new every morning. When we wake, we should recognize each new day as an opportunity from Him to live in such a way as to bring others to know God the way we do. As we live in the comfort that comes from His love, kindness, compassion, and faithfulness, living out these same characteristics toward others, we will become effective in our ability to reach others with this wonderful news.

So how do we enjoy these attributes of God in our lives? The writer tells us that these things are reserved for those who wait (expectantly) for the Lord. They are for those who earnestly seek Him with their whole hearts. Consider his words:

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. 

Goodness awaits us when we wait patiently for the Lord to move on our behalf. But the waiting is not a dormant existence. To “wait” means that we continue to do the things that He has called us to do, knowing that He will answer our prayers and bring to pass whatever it is we have committed to Him. Consider Jesus’ words and the words of David regarding this issue:

Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 

                                                                                                            Mark 11:24 

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.

                                                                                                               Psalm 37:4-5 

This is what it means to wait expectantly for the Lord. But these promises are also for the one who seeks God. Consider the words of Christ:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

                                                                                                                 Matthew 6:33 

When our desire is for the Lord first and foremost, we can expect that He will provide us with everything that we need.

So the writer enjoyed hope because he had his mind steadfast on the things of God. The constant, never changing, and never failing aspects of God’s love, kindness, compassion, and faithfulness provided the writer with the hope for which his heart had longed.

What about us? Perhaps we need to say, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope.”