The Season of Hope

How do we see hope in the midst of suffering and loss?  Jeremiah was in prison for predicting the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and exile of Israel when he offered these words of hope:
  
Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NIV)
¹⁴ “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
¹⁵ “‘In those days and at that time
    I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
    he will do what is just and right in the land.
¹⁶ In those days Judah will be saved
    and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it^[a] will be called:
    The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
 
 Jeremiah held fast to belief, knew that even though there would be suffering and loss, the promise was of deliverance, of a branch to spring forth.

It seems to me that when things are going well it is really easy to say, "Oh, yes, I know there is a promise of deliverance, I know everything will be all right."  It is quite another to say it when in grips of terrible, gut-wrenching, heart-breaking loss.  Yet that, I think, is exactly what we are called to do.  To know, believe, and feel our faith so strongly that we can hold onto it even while in prison for doing the right thing.  Even if we are in exile and bondage for hundreds of years.  Even when we suffer personal defeat like the loss of a home, a child, a parent... even when we feel so small and weak and broken that we can't lift a hand to protest to life that it is too hard, that we have been left behind.  Even then we can know that God will deliver us.  Hope lives in the Christ who came, is coming and will come.

Wow!  As I wrote that I realized, those are words on a page that sound really good, but how do I live that out?  What does that look like in my boring, day-to-day life?   We all suffer loss.  The last couple of weeks have held more than their share of loss - a classmate of my kids, a friend's mother, another friend's sister, a long-time church member... the list goes on.  The grief and empathy are tangible in the face of a joyous season of hope.  What do I do to hold on to that promise?  And how do I help others do the same, or even find it for the first time?

The answer is that there is no "one" answer.  It seems to me that part of the strength of Jeremiah and Israel came from the way they lived together in community. Support and encouragement of one another go a long way.  Part of the answer is a strong individual relationship with God.  For me that comes from personal introspection, quieting the world in order to process and contemplate what I am reading and learning.   And depending on the situation there are other parts as well, but the bottom line is that it isn't easy, and it isn't supposed to be easy.  Claiming hope in the face of despair is a choice that means giving up my need for control, accepting and dealing with things as they come, and tending to my relationship with my community of faith and with God.  I am not all that successful at doing all those things, but I think I am making progress.