Hope Outloud!
No one who hopes in you, will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Psa 25:3
Looking around at the headlines these days is very depressing to say the least. We see widespread chaos in every part of the world. Our “leaders”, who are supposed to have the good of the people in the forefront of all they do… “public servants”, only think of themselves and advancing their careers and or “legacy”. Governments across the world are collapsing and no one cares about the people that are immediately effected by this. The earth itself is “groaning” … earthquakes, hurricanes, all kinds of natural disasters. And don’t get me started on all the moral issues or should I say immoral issues that plague our society. My heart broke the day I heard that New York had ratified abortion unto birth…That is illegal, immoral…it is murder. It’s so unbelievable…things can be overwhelming and on the surface it can all seem pretty hopeless. So what do you do in times like these? Sometimes it is difficult to have hope. As we look around at our world today, we see people put their hope in so many other things. Some people think they are being hopeful when they have “positive thoughts”. This can probably be managed for a time, but what happens to the positive thoughts when they are let down?
One thing is for sure… Without hope there is no desire or aspiration for anything…no reason to follow through, to stay the course…no desire to live. Without hope there is no reason to get out of bed in the morning. Without hope, depression and despair rule your life. If you know Jesus Christ as your savior, then you have hope… the hope of eternal life, the hope of living a life with meaning and purpose.
So…what happens when you feel hopeless as a believer? That is not supposed to happen right? We have the answer right? My husband and I had to face this very question when we moved up here to Northern California. We came up here in hopes that we could bring glory to the God that we both served and loved. We had promises and dreams about all that we could do up here. A few months after we arrived, all our hopes were shattered…promises that were made were not longer going to be honored. I can’t speak for my husband, only to say that he went through his own valleys of doubt and depression. Through it all, we both tried to put on a brave front. As the pain of the betrayal set in, I got angry. I rather be angry than feel the pain. So anger caused me to isolate myself, build a wall around my heart so that NO ONE would ever be able to hurt me again. My husband and I fought all the time. He would talk about ministry trying to stay hopeful, and I would run the other way knowing I was in no shape spiritually, emotionally to do anything. I stopped attending church services. This made it all the worse cause the enemy’s playground is isolation. I started believing the lies he fed me in this isolation…”you are forgotten, you are forsaken…you have no friends…you are hopeless…” Oh what a darkness enveloped me… so great was my fall. I think I understand the verse in Matthew that states, ” If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
But God.
One weekend we had old friends come up for a visit. To keep up appearances, my husband urged me to go to church with them on Sunday. I agreed. I don’t remember what the message was about, but it stirred me enough to agree to comeback to church. From that moment on, this wonderful God of mine (ours) began the work of reconciliation and rebuilding. He was unrelenting in His pursuit of me, this rebellious, sinful, prodigal daughter of His. Each week the messages gently pointed out things in my heart that I needed to repent of and surrender to Him.
Broken Beyond Repair, Healing Beyond Belief .
With every passing week, He won my heart back with truth and love. He gave me back my hope…not in what man could do or promise, but in what HE could do and what HE promises. This recovery did not happen overnight… the enemy did not give up his fight easily..it has taken a long time.
What have I learned? That God allowed this time of barrenness in my life so He could strip away the old woman who trusted too much in herself and in what others can do. I have realized that He was with me all along… even in my hopeless, rebellious sinful state.
I have learned that hope in God liberates and motivates, This hope can compel us to do anything… to believe in this God that is limitless and immeasurable. It causes me to see beyond my limitations, for I am a very limited human being, to see beyond my circumstances that I can not control, and to leave everything in His Hands, for His hope does not disappoint. In all this, my faith has been built up, my hope restored.
What about you? Maybe you haven’t fallen as deeply as I had…but you are still struggling with your circumstances? Is there something in your life that seems hopeless or completely out of your control? Bitter feelings towards people who have hurt you?
We need to know that God will not forget us. He will never leave your side, nor will He allow us to be shamed for our hope. When we put our hope in God, we will be victorious. This should give us tremendous confidence. Believers should not be afraid to hope. Are you hoping for something that seems impossible? GREAT! There is nothing impossible for our all knowing, all powerful, all loving GOD. (Matt 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27)
We should hope…BOLDLY—OUT LOUD—because we know GOD is real, and our hope in HIM is real. Reach out to those who are lost and perishing with His boundless love and this hope that goes beyond measure.
Lord, Thank you for giving us this hope. This amazing beyond measure hope that never disappoints. Let our hope in You give us confidence each day…to HOPE OUTLOUD!
