Reading the book of Lamentations is like reading a nightmare in which parents eat their children or leave them to starve.  No wonder the author is lamenting... sorrowing.  His situation is utterly hopeless. "My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD."  

I've felt that kind of hopelessness.  Not one drop of energy left.  Not enough to keep up the fight.  Not even enough to keep hope alive.

And yet, in the middle of chapter three, in the middle of the horror, comes a clear declaration of faith.

But this I call to mind,
   and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
   his mercies never comes 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."

- Lamentations 3:21-24

Those are beautiful, familiar words.  This time, however, that last phrase gripped me.  "Therefore I will hope in him."  How can the author say that after claiming he had no hope?  

How do we find hope when we feel hopeless?  Lamentations teaches us to find hope by remembering ("call to mind") that the Lord is our "portion."

Which begs the question: What does "portion" mean in this context?

The Lord is Our Portion

In Hebrew, the word portion means a ration or part of something divided.  It most often refers to the inheritance of land "portioned" to each tribe of Israel.  The land would provide food and room to grow for each tribe, for generations.  The land, their inheritance, gave them security.

However, one tribe didn't get a land inheritance, a portion.  The tribe of Levi was given the privilege of being the priests of Israel.  But, as priests, they could not own land.  So, God gave them a different inheritance.  He promised to be their portion, their inheritance (Duet 10:9). He would be the provision and security for the tribe of Levi, forever.

Find Contentment and Hope

Like the author of Lamentations, we can feel utter hopelessness.  Our heads may find it easy to claim verse 23, "Great is your faithfulness," while our hearts work hard to remember that God is our portion.

As our portion, God has promised to take care of us.  We can put all our hope in him, secure that he will provide as promised.  This is the how, the way in which we find our way back to hope.  With God as our portion we can be content in circumstances that are difficult to endure. We can have hope that we are safe, loved, held, and never alone.

This is how we make it through our nightmares. This is why we can believe hope is never inappropriate.

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