Yet, I Still Dare to Hope (Rev. Dr. E. Wayne Hanks, Senior Pastor)

Peace has been stripped away, and I have forgotten what prosperity is. I cry out, “My splendor is gone! Everything I had hoped for from the Lord is lost!” The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord . (Lamentations 3:17-26 NLT)

5 Takeaways From This Passage
(from book, did not catch name or author)

1) Awfulness of God's Wrath

2) Righteousness of God's Judgement

3) Truthfulness of God's Word

4) Tenderness of God's Heart

5) Faithfulness of God's Mercy

"Splendor" in the Hebrew is "Glory," but deeper, "the weight of His Presence."

Focus on vv 25-26 - "The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from The Lord."

Lamentations laments the captivity of Israel.

So many crises today in society, in general, and even in the church, including the suicide of a pastor's wife right here in the Metroplex (Park Cities Presbyterian). By all outward appearances, all was well, but to her, life had become hopeless. 1,700 ministers per month leaving ministry (up from 1,500 two years ago). Opening 4,000 new churches per year, by closing 7,000.

Old Arab proverb- "All sunshine and no rain ultimately makes a desert." Bad times with good make up a mature person. Do the words faith, hope and love have a place in such dark times? Yes! 100 times yes!

Greatest devastation for a culture is for it to be forgetful. "Forget not His benefits." America is in a corporate state of amnesia, regarding the goodness of God, focused on ourselves and our needs, rather than the Word of God.

Remember - others have been in these valleys before, and they came through.

5 Realities About Dark Valleys

1) Valleys Are Inevitable (John 16:33 - I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”) (John 16:33 NLT) the only way to get rid if valleys is to stop breathing.

2) Valleys are Unpredictable (Lamentations 3:29 - Let them lie face down in the dust, for there may be hope at last. (Lamentations 3:29 NLT)) You can't schedule these - they usually come at the worst time. Jeremiah 4:20

3) Valleys are Impartial ( ) They don't care your race, social status, character or quality. If you're a human being, you'll have problems. Your support system must be anchored in the eternal.

4) Valleys are Temporary (1 Peter 1:6 - So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. (1 Peter 1:6 NLT)). Psalms 23:4 - Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (Psalms 23:4 NLT). Romans 8:18-23 - Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. (Romans 8:18-23 NLT)

5) Valleys are Purposeful. They are important and instructive, as you can't have mountains ( & mountaintop experiences) if you don't have valleys. To get to the next mountaintop, utility have to go through the next valley.

But Jeremiah didn't stop with the lament - starting in vs 21, he remembered the hope found in God. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the L ord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:21-23 NLT)

Paul said Romans 5:3-5 - We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)

Psalms 136 - antyphonal psalm

Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.

Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.
His faithful love endures forever.

(Psalms 136:1-5 NLT)

Close with "Great is Thy Faithfulness" hymn

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