{"id":14252,"date":"2026-03-10T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=14252"},"modified":"2026-01-23T07:08:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:08:46","slug":"hope-in-waiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/hope-in-waiting\/","title":{"rendered":"Hope in Waiting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah, thought to have written Lamentations, wrote in the aftermath of Jerusalem\u2019s destruction-a season of devastating loss, suffering, and unanswered \u201cwhy\u201d questions. Chapter three moves the book from deep anguish to fragile hope. Suffering feels like it will never end, but eventually, it does. God does allow grief in our lives, but compassion always follows. Pain happens in the larger story of restoration. The Lord doesn\u2019t take pleasure in suffering. The Israelites’ poor choices over a long period caused Jerusalem\u2019s destruction. God didn\u2019t want that; His heart grieved for the decisions that caused them suffering. But free will allows us to choose which path we will follow, and God lets us go the way we want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poor choices teach us discipline. The Lord\u2019s discipline, rooted in love, has purpose and restraint, never cruel or careless. Many of our \u201cwhy\u201d questions have answers related to our actions, not God\u2019s. With age comes hindsight. Looking back on my life, I can easily see where my actions caused problems that I blamed on the Creator. For instance, when I followed worldly advice on my relationships, I got my heart broken repeatedly. Instead of following Biblical advice and obeying the Lord, I ignored Him, and I suffered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But God did teach me from those mistakes when I turned to Him, and I began listening to His word. Like the Israelites caused Jerusalem\u2019s destruction, I caused mine. The Lord allowed grief into my life and taught me from it. Would the Creator have preferred I didn\u2019t make the choices I did? For sure. However, the All-Knowing knew I wouldn\u2019t learn my lesson if He didn\u2019t allow me to follow my free will. Decisions determine the outcome. Trusting feelings that lie will take us down the wrong path. But when we choose Jesus and begin doing things His way, we will please the Lord and receive His grace and mercy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t sit close to each other anymore,\u201d the farmer\u2019s wife said to him, sitting next to the passenger window in the old pick-up with a bench seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d the farmer replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we dated, I always sat right next to you when you drove. Remember?\u201d she asked, not giving him time to answer. \u201cNow you sit over there, and I sit over here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not the one who moved,\u201d said the farmer, pointing out the obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In our relationship with God, we blame him for moving when we did. The Lord doesn\u2019t force His presence on anyone. As a gentleman, He never goes where He\u2019s not invited. Thankfully, He intervenes and draws us back to Him, but not before we learn a few lessons along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journal Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When have you felt distant from God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has God allowed you to grieve?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What lessons have you learned from your grief?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thank God for patience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two-minute read. Jeremiah, thought to have written Lamentations, wrote in the aftermath of Jerusalem\u2019s destruction-a season of devastating loss, suffering, and unanswered \u201cwhy\u201d questions. Chapter three moves the book from deep anguish to fragile hope. Suffering feels like it will never end, but eventually, it does. God does allow grief in our lives, but compassion… Continue reading Hope in Waiting<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14254,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14252\/revisions\/14254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}