Hope in the Ashes

Devotional From The Sermon: Consistent Love

Rev. Dr. Bankole Akinbinu

Reading: Romans 8:35-39

Devotional:

Lamentations is not a book of easy answers. It is a book written from the ashes. The prophet is not pretending the devastation is not real. He is not minimizing the lament. He is choosing, in the middle of genuine suffering, to call to mind the one truth that holds: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Paul echoes this conviction in Romans 8, declaring that hardship, danger, and even death cannot sever the bond of God’s love. Your circumstances do not determine the constancy of God’s love for you. You may be sitting in the ashes of a failed marriage, a broken career, a prodigal child, or a diagnosis that frightens you. But this you can call to mind: His love has not changed. His mercies are still new. Great is His faithfulness. That is your hope, and it is enough.

Reflection:

• What is the lament you are currently carrying? Write it out honestly before God, and then, as the prophet did, call to mind the steadfast love of the Lord.
• What does hope look like for you today, not because circumstances have changed, but because His love has not?