Key Loser, Hope Finder
“Honey, I can’t find my keys.” You hear it all the time around my house. I am not the honey. I am the key loser. Shamefully, I lose a lot of things. Occasionally, I lose my mind ransacking the house to find whatever it is I’ve lost. I have no theories why I can’t remember where “it” is. Only that it is a hereditary trait that I passed on. Sorry son.
I’m lucky if I keep track of Chapstick for a week. Please don’t buy me a nice pen, it will disappear to I don’t where. And I know that a car is a really big thing, but I’ve lost it too. I’ve hid Christmas gifts and can’t remember where until Easter and on a bad day I might forget your name even if we’ve met a thousand times.
I’ve tried all the tips, tricks and technology to help me remember. But the truth is until my mind slows down there is no hope. When I am consumed by the next big thing on my list, I fail to remember where I laid the keys down, parked the car or put the [fill in the blank here.]
I wish I had my husbands discipline when it came to laying down my stuff. On top of his chest of drawers is a neatly lined row of all the little, but important things that are so easy to lose. He’s the aforementioned honey that helps me when I’ve lost “it” again.
I love the Lord with all my heart, but sometimes I live as if I’ve lost everything. All my energy and attention are taken up by the next big thing and I forget where to lay down my hope. My faith is hindered by frustration. And the fact is even if Jesus was standing right in front of me, I might look right past him.
So how do we live un-consumed? We lay down our hope in the same place every time.
“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’” Lamentations 3:21-24
Surrounded by sin, suffering and sorrow, Jeremiah, the author of Lamentations found hope. And if we take a close look at his life, his circumstances seem pretty hopeless. Sold out by the very people he came to rescue, his cry echoes the voice of Job. Even when there is no end in sight, Jeremiah calls to mind where hope is found.
Hope in the Lord.
And he keeps going back to the same place, to the same person, to the same Jesus. And every time, He is there.
“If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 13:13
“Christ Jesus is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25
When we keep going back to the One in whom all hope is found, we are satisfied not by what we find but by Who fills our heart with an inexplicable peace. The it’s-going-to-be-okay kind of peace that hits you out of nowhere when you finally lay down your all-consuming troubles where they belong – at the feet of Jesus.
Because of His great love.
But don’t forget why He gives hope. Jeremiah says it. Exactly. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.” We can hope in the Lord because there is no one that loves us more than He. Let me repeat that personally to you. There is no one that loves you more than Christ Jesus.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; While we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
His death for our sin was not the end of his love for us. It was the beginning. The Spirit of the risen Christ is alive and working in my life and in your life… If we trust Him.
Whether we are going through the toughest of times or we are simply consumed by a lot of little things that add up to big stress, He hears our cries. His love, His compassion, it never ends. It never fails.
New mercies every morning.
Waking up is hard when your day is filled with hope-stealing stuff. We all have stuff. Relationships that hurt. Jobs that we want out of. Illness that we didn’t ask for. Loss that is too much to handle. Even a good night’s rest isn’t enough to face the day. But God’s mercies are.
I remind myself, I made it through yesterday, last week, last time. I wake up and remember I will make it through this day too. And I didn’t do it on my own.
Keep reading just a few short verses past God’s unfailing love and faithfulness and you will find what makes His promises possible. Every. Single. Morning. (Lamentations 3:25-27)
Seek Him.
Wait on Him.
Learn what He wants to teach you.
Finding your keys … and Hope
It’s not as easy as it sounds. If I would just put my keys in the same place every, single, time. I wouldn’t forget where to find them. I wouldn’t lose them. I wouldn’t be so consumed by what is lost, but on my way out the door to start a new day.
Hope is not lost dear friend. We’ve just got to keep laying it down at he same place every time. And keep going back. Every. Single. Time. It’s there. At the feet of Jesus. His love never fails. His compassions are new every morning.
Something to think about.
Where do you keep laying down your hope?
Are you looking wholeheartedly to find the Hope-Giver?