Hope for God's Mercy

    When facing God's anger, is it wrong to have hope?  The answer is no.  If you are aware of the reason for God's anger, then you repent and turn away from that sin.  If you are a Christian, then you have a built in hope for your eternal life.  

    Hope is not a wish.  Hope is based on faith and holding onto God's promises.  You know that God's anger will not last forever.  You just have to endure the consequences of sin.  Hope keep depression and despair away.

    For God's people during the first few months of exile and God's wrath being released, life was hard.  The people were bitter because there was no escape.  God had shut out their prayers and left them alone with no help.  Their forgot about their prosperity quickly.  

    The souls of the Jews were downcast, but there was still hope.  God's love is greater than anything we can expect and His compassion never fails.  All they had to do was wait for God's anger to cease, so they waited quietly for His salvation.  The other option is to become bitter and allow it to eat away at your soul.

    They bore their punishment with hope that it would not last forever.  Justice would not be deprived.  God does not enjoy bringing pain and suffering to people.  They had learned not to speak for God unless He commands it and to speak if He tells you something.  Making yourself the spokesperson for God is a sin that brings calamity.  

    Examine your heart and ways.  Give over the sins that you discover and return to God.  There is always hope in deliverance and assurance.  However, if you refuse to face your sinful self and reject God's instruction, then you are cursed to the pit.  The people that hurt people without remorse will be cursed to destruction.

Lamentations 3