Finding Hope in a Broken World

“The LORD is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him.” Lamentations 3:25 (CEV)

We live on a broken planet, with natural disasters, physical decay, and death. There’s emotional distress and disappointment, distance and discord in relationships, and spiritual discontent and darkness. It’s no wonder why there is an epidemic of hopelessness in our world. I would feel hopeless too if I thought this broken place was the end of the story—but it’s not. There’s good news!

How can I be happy in a world full of pain and suffering and sorrow? How can I be happy when I deeply and personally feel the effects of broken bodies, broken relationships, and broken hope? 

Do what Jeremiah did. Jeremiah was a prophet who experienced plenty of suffering and disappointment. He wrote the book of Lamentations, where he gives his testimony:

“I cannot find peace or remember happiness. . . . Thinking of my troubles and my lonely wandering makes me miserable. That’s all I ever think about, and I am depressed. Then I remember something that fills me with hope. The LORD’s kindness never fails! If he had not been merciful, we would have been destroyed. The LORD can always be trusted to show mercy each morning. Deep in my heart I say, ‘The LORD is all I need; I can depend on him!’ The LORD is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him” (Lamentations 3:17, 19-25 CEV).

The key to happiness in a broken, messed up, damaged world is ultimately this: The Lord is all I need.

So I shouldn't put my trust in people, because they can let me down. I shouldn't put my trust in circumstances, because they can disappoint me. I shouldn't put my trust in the things of this world, because they won’t last.

Instead put your trust in God. Remember his promises to me in his Word and his faithfulness to me in the past. Then I'll be able to trust in his unfailing kindness for my future. I'll be able to obey him with joy and say with confidence, “The Lord is all I need. I can depend on him!”

In summary: 

In a broken world filled with pain, disappointment, and hopelessness, the key to true peace and joy is trusting in God’s unfailing kindness. Like Jeremiah, who poured out his struggles in Lamentations yet found hope in God’s mercy and faithfulness, we are reminded that people, circumstances, and things will fail us—but the Lord never does. His kindness and mercy are new every morning, and when I choose to trust and obey Him, we can confidently say, “The Lord is all I need; I can depend on Him.”

Bottom LIne: 

In a broken world, true hope and lasting peace come only from trusting in God’s unfailing kindness and depending on Him each day.

Based on this, my next wisest step is to pause and recall a specific moment when God has been faithful to you in the past—write it down, thank Him for it, and let that memory fuel my trust and obedience today.