Some of you are like me.   (I know because we have conversed on this matter.)  “The matter” of which I write is the pessimism we have felt for the past three years, when it comes to watching television news or reading a newspaper.   We were former “news junkies,” who normally spent many hours giving our rapt attention to news programs. I frequently fought guilt for placing so much of my attention on these temporary affairs that “burn hot” briefly and then fade into a forgotten oblivion.  Have you ever noticed how such an important matter to you, raised by the news media, has no relevance (what-so-ever) after a week or two?

Even without me watching, these comets and asteroids dazzle the airwaves 24/7.  There is no shortage of brilliant fireballs, both on the national and global level. The political scene, in particular, the presidential race, is as flaming and incendiary as it is muddled.  This murkiness leaves opportunity for the division between right and left to continue to intensify and become more clear. Anti-Jewish sentiments, both here and abroad, have risen to frighteningly high and deeply dangerous levels, while fears of a major world war continue to grow. (O.K., O.K., so the bright flashes still catch my attention.  But only out of the corner of my eye.  I grasp enough depressing news to keep the optimism that I once had for America downright miserable.)

This week a “news flash” indicated that there are quite a few of us in this condition.   According to a recent poll, CNBC reported that “66% of Americans say they’re ‘pessimistic, now and for the future’ — a record high in the 17-year history of the survey.” In sum, the poll stated, “We’ve never found people more depressed.”

Why, then, did I title this blog “A Reason for Hope in 2024”? It has only given reasons to despair.   Well, in a strange way, my heart continues to sing through all of this.  It sings in gratefulness to God for a strong hope that is not conditioned to national and global circumstances.  I remain encouraged, full of faith and confidence, in the midst of these difficult times. 

It’s not simply that I’m hardwired to be an optimist (I’m not). And it’s not simply that all things are going well (health-wise for every family member – which includes our pets, or according to all my desires for ministry and at the college where I teach.)    I am profoundly grateful to God for His kindness and His faithfulness).

In God’s presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11), which means that as we turn our gaze away from the dazzling media lights and gaze on Him, that joy becomes ours as well.  Here is something else that the psalmist wrote, “Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.” (Psalm 112:4)

Because of Him — because of Who He is — I can escape depression and discouragement.

Singing a familiar song or hymn is a great way to fix our sight on the right ingredients. (And) understanding the background to a song, for me, often intensifies my observation. 

Let me explain with the old hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.”  You know the one.  It  begins with the words, “Great is thy faithfulness, Oh God my father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee. Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not, As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.”

The chorus then declared, “Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided, Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.”

Do you know the background to this song?  It comes from the Old Testament Book of Lamentations.  (Lamentations 3:23.)   And the context from which these words were written far exceed our current national and global circumstances for feeling discouraged. 

Lamentations details haunting images of destruction and despair, the result of Judah’s sins against the Lord. As a result, terrible judgment came, leaving the people in a broken and decimated state. Just consider for a moment how agonizing their situation was:

The elders of Daughter Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have sprinkled dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’ as they faint like the wounded in the streets of the city, as their lives ebb away in their mothers’ arms. (Lamentations 2:10–12)

The prophet’s personal sufferings certainly was not any better.  He also described the effect of God’s wrath on his own life:

He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. I became the laughingstock of all my people; they mock me in song all day long. He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink. He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. So I say, ‘My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the LORD.’ (Lamentations 3:13–18)

But that is not all he had to say — and please try to let this strike you as dramatically as its author intended. It was in the midst of this darkness, this living hell, something far worse than most of us have lived through, that he also said this: 

“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: 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.” (Lamentations 3:19-23)

Yes, he was saying, “my situation is dire.” Yes, he affirmed, the pain of my people is overwhelming. As a result he confessed that he was downcast and discouraged.

But he didn’t stop there. He remembered the Lord’s great love. He remembered the nature of God. He reflected on His mercy and goodness, and rather than complain He offered praise: “Great is Your faithfulness! Your mercies are new every morning.” (This is something worth chewing on. As surely as the sun rises every single day, God’s mercies arise afresh as well.)

And so he strengthens his own heart, declaring: 

“I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:24–26)

Because of this, we can patiently endure - full of hope and without fear. 

As we move into 2024, more than 2,500 years after Lamentations was written and nearly 2,000 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have great reason to be encouraged.  Maybe you will find yourself singing this great hymn throughout the year.  (I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I think that I will.)