The best reason for hope is God’s faithfulness.

我们有盼望是因为上帝永远信实。

His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22–23

祂的怜悯不致断绝。每早晨这都是新的。祢的诚实极其广大！-耶利米哀歌3章22-23节

After wrapping the tree with clear twinkle lights, I tied pink and blue bows on its branches and christened it our “Hope for a Baby” Christmas tree. My husband and I had been waiting for a baby through adoption for more than four years. Surely by Christmas!

我把闪烁的灯串缠绕在圣诞树上，又系上了粉色和蓝色的蝴蝶结，将之命名为“求子树”。我们夫妻盼望领养一个宝宝，苦盼了四年。期盼上帝在圣诞节前就让我们如愿！

Every morning I stopped at the tree and prayed, reminding myself of God’s faithfulness. On December 21 we received the news: no baby by Christmas. Devastated, I paused by the tree that had become a symbol of God’s provision.Was God still faithful? Was I doing something wrong?

每天早上，我都站在树前祷告，提醒自己上帝的信实。到了12月21日，我们却接到通知：不可能在圣诞节之前领养到宝宝。我简直要崩溃了。我呆站在那棵象征上帝供应一切的圣诞树前，不禁心想：上帝依然信实吗？我是否做错了什么？

At times, God’s apparent withholding results from His loving discipline. And other times God lovingly delays to renew our trust. In Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah describes God’s correction of Israel. The pain is palpable: “He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver” (3:13). Through it all, Jeremiah also expresses ultimate trust in God’s faithfulness: “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (vv. 22–23).

有时候，上帝未应允我们所求，是出于祂爱的管教。但有时候，上帝延迟施恩是要更新我们的信心。在耶利米哀歌中，先知耶利米描述上帝管教以色列民，管教带来的痛苦让人痛彻心扉：“祂把箭袋中的箭射入我的肺腑”（3章13节）。尽管如此，耶利米仍永远相信上帝的信实，他说：“祂的怜悯不致断绝。每早晨这都是新的。祢的诚实极其广大！”（22-23节）

I left the tree standing well beyond Christmas and continued my morning prayer. At last, on Easter weekend, we received our baby girl. God is always faithful, though not necessarily on our timeline nor always according to our desires.

圣诞节过去了，我依然摆放着那棵圣诞树，也依然继续着我的晨祷。最后，在复活节的那个周末，终于迎来了我们的宝贝女儿。即使不是按着我们自己安排的时间表，也不是永远顺着我们的渴望，上帝仍然永远信实。

My children are now in their thirties, but each year I set up a miniature version of the tree, reminding myself and others to hope in God’s faithfulness.

现在我的孩子们都已经三十多岁了，但每一年我还是会摆放那棵求子圣诞树的缩小版，好提醒自己和家人要有盼望，因为上帝永远信实。

Dear God, help me trust You today even when I can’t see what You are doing. You are faithful.

亲爱的上帝，请帮助我相信你，即使我看不到你在做什么。你是忠实的。

Lamentations 3:1-3 13-24    NIV

3 I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the Lord’s wrath. 2 He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; 3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. 13 He pierced my heart with arrows from his quiver. 14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;  they mock me in song all day long. 15 He has filled me with bitter herbs and given me gall to drink. 16 He has broken my teeth with gravel; he has trampled me in the dust. 17 I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is. 18 So I say, “My splendor is gone and all that I had hoped from the Lord.” 19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them,and my soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

耶利米哀歌 3:1-3 13-24

3 我是因耶和华愤怒的杖遭遇困苦的人。 2 他引导我，使我行在黑暗中，不行在光明里。 3 他真是终日再三反手攻击我。13 他把箭袋中的箭射入我的肺腑。 14 我成了众民的笑话，他们终日以我为歌曲。15 他用苦楚充满我，使我饱用茵陈。 16 他又用沙石碜断我的牙，用灰尘将我蒙蔽。17 你使我远离平安，我忘记好处。 18 我就说：“我的力量衰败，我在耶和华那里毫无指望。” 19 耶和华啊，求你记念我如茵陈和苦胆的困苦窘迫！ 20 我心想念这些，就在里面忧闷。 21 我想起这事，心里就有指望。 22 我们不致消灭，是出于耶和华诸般的慈爱，是因他的怜悯不至断绝。 23 每早晨这都是新的，你的诚实极其广大。 24 我心里说：“耶和华是我的份，因此我要仰望他。”

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

The book of Lamentations expresses the grief of Jerusalem following the 587 invasion of Babylon. With her walls broken, her children exiled, and survivors living in the rubble of better times, it bares the soul of a once-proud people.In its original Hebrew language, the book is composed of five chapters of carefully constructed poems. Its finely polished composition provides literary relief to the overwhelming confusion of a nation that has lost control of its own emotions and destiny. The only hope left is in the belief that above the clouds of this dark night of a nation’s soul, there is a God who has in the past shown that His mercies and love will never end.

耶利米哀歌表达耶路撒冷在公元前587年遭巴比伦入侵后的悲痛。耶路撒冷的城墙倒塌，百姓被掳，幸存者生活在曾经繁盛的城市废墟中。这废墟昭示着先民的骄傲心态。 这本耶利米哀歌在希伯来原文中，是由五篇精心构筑的诗歌所组成的。这五篇优美的诗歌，让这些无法掌控自己情感和命运的以色列民，心中巨大的混乱能得到缓解。他们唯一的盼望就是相信在此黑暗时期，有一位上帝早已表明，祂的怜悯和慈爱永不止息。

整理：于姊妹