“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”Lamentations 3:21-26

I don’t know what’s facing you this Monday. You probably don’t fully know.
But however bleak or bright your Monday seems you can have hope.
HOPE

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope”

Hope doesn’t spring up in you from external sources.
Hope comes from within. Hope is made strong in our minds.
Hope is bolstered up by what we think and say.
Hope is something that is diligently built in our minds, not a random emotion that happens to fall upon us.

Hope is doesn’t spring up or fall upon or happen to you…it’s built by you.

And yes, hope must a have a source, a truth for you to build upon, but if you leave the truth by itself and never build upon it, you hope will be weak at best.

Hope is built on truth.
Truth must be remembered.

I wonder why it’s the truthful things, the good things, the righteous things that I so quickly forget. My mind clings tightly to the negative things, the painful things, the evil things…but the good slips quickly through. I forget.

I forget God’s goodness to me in past storms.
I forget God’s generosity to me in past droughts.
I forget God’s faithfulness to me in dark places I’ve been before.

I forget that God is a loving Father.
I forget that God thinks good thoughts towards me continually.
I forget that God has and is pouring out mercy and grace upon me.
I forget that God looks at me and smiles…

So let us join the author of Lamentations…the one who foresaw the destruction of many nations and the punishment of many people…let us join him in speech and in action of the mind and tongue.

Let us say, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope…”

And then let us act.

What do you need to call to mind today? What past goodness of God do you need to bring to the forefront of your mind? What characteristic of God do you need to remind yourself this moment?

Call it to mind.
Speak it out loud or write it down.
Breathe it deeply into your heart and mind.
Apply it to your today and your tomorrow.
Then rejoice in it.

Be blessed
<3

{NOTE: If you can’t think of any examples of God’s past faithfulness to you, call a godly mentor and ask them for some. If you are having trouble thinking of characteristics of God, start with the verses above.}