SESSION 13

FROM DESPAIR TO HOPE (LAM. 3:19-24)

Jeremiah’s despair alongside his hope in God.

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the wormwood and the poison.
20 I continually remember them and have become depressed.

21 Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end.

23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness!

24 I say, “The LORD is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”

IDENTIFY:

Contrasts
evidence of Jeremiah’s despair in verses 19-24.

EMPHASIZE:

Jeremiah called on God to “remember” his despair.
When God “remembers” in the Bible, it is a way to describe
that He is about to do something.

Jeremiah’s call for help was not only a prayer for himself,
but for all his people.

DISCUSS:

God often uses the prayers of His people
to change their hearts and give them a hope when they are tempted to lose hope.

Ask:

• How can we avoid wallowing in self-pity amid sorrow and pain? (p. 111)

IDENTIFY:

Contrasts
evidence in verses 19-24
of the hope Jeremiah had discovered in the middle of his deep grief.

DISCUSS:

• How does focusing on God’s love and mercy help a person endure God’s discipline? (p. 111)

the significance of “faithful love” (chesed) in verse 22.

MEMORY VERSE:

Lamentations 3:22-23)
Lead the group to read it aloud as a short responsive reading,
with one half the group reading the first verse, and the other half reading the second verse.
Then the whole group reads both verses together in unison.
Encourage the group to work to memorize these verses in the coming week.

TRANSITION:

Jeremiah shows us how to focus on God’s love and mercy
even when we are walking through times of despair.