When Hope Evades and Questions Drown Us

Text:

King James Version Psalm 119

My soul melteth for heaviness:

Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

Introduction:

Have you been in a place or circumstance where you tried your best to push through but as time went by, it seemed the situation did not improve but simply got worse. The more effort, the the more you prayed, the harder you worked to trust him…it seemed the issue at hand begin to compound or magnify. It became that giant snow ball that begin a downhill descent and as it continued the speed got faster and the problem got larger. You knew that when this snowball of a problem stopped it was going to be messy and the outcome would be too much for you to put back together.

Then there are those things you get blindsided by and each passing day it seems the hole you are laying in gets bigger. It may even seem someone has started to shovel dirt into that hole and you feel you are being buried …all the while continuing to breathe.

It easy to proclaim the goodness and the greatness of God when things are going well; yet, when things go crazy we find ourself in this bliss of questions that overwhelm us and any hope evades us. We reach for hope and it seems to disappear before our eyes with the problem that finds its way our direction. The questions that encompass us soon become the anchor to our hopelessness. We feel God’s love has deserted us and His blessings distant from the place we now occupy. A place that has shaken us to our core, testing our faith, and causing us to begin to cast blame on God and others.

Body:

It was this place we find a lady by the name of Naomi. She had lost her husband and both sons. The man she loved and the boys she had birthed into this world…gone….leaving her.

Scripture tells us she became bitter (Ruth 1:20–21) “And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?”

She blamed God for the affliction and state of life that had befallen her. She only had two daughter-in-laws; Ruth and Orpah.

Naomi is pushing her God away with one hand because or place in life, yet reaching for Him with the other because Yaweh is the only thing she had placed her trust in.

As Paul said in Romans 7:15 “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”

I do what I hate to do and cannot do what I want to do. There are time we want faith and we want to trust in him yet the things we want to do evades us.

Romans 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.”

I desire to do good and yet I cannot perform the task!

We want to trust Him but we find ourselves questioning. We want to have faith, but even hope has deserted us.

We must remember the words if the prophet. Isaiah 55:8–9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Only He knows the beginning from the end. Only He knows the place we are at.

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

I have come to remind someone we have Hope. Psalm 119:114 “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”

In the book of Exodous God instructs Moses to lead the children of Israel out of bondage God delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. The Passover feast is celebrated to remind every generation of God’s delivering power. 400 years and slavery and God delivers them.

Throughout the Old Testament we read where Gods chosen people turn from God and their enemies begin to defeat and oppress them.

In Judges 10 God tells them you have forsaken me and chosen to serve other gods and I will no longer save you. He instructs them to cry out to the gods you have chosen and let them save you from your distress.

But, If you read the OT very long you will discover something that the Children of God learned. They learned to boast of His mighty works. They did not keep His works to themselves but they would tell others.

We find God giving Joshua a pep in chapter 1 . Be strong and courageous Even when they fear the promise land which God had promised them. God was telling them to stay strong.

When things would turn upside down and their backs would be against the wall. Israel would begin to reflect on the past and all the marvelous works God had done in their life. Yes there were times when they felt there was no hope. When questions would drown their thoughts and cause them to make poor decisions.

But when they begin to reminesce on what God had done things would change. They would begin to testiufy of his mercy things begin to change.

Joshua sent out two spies in Joshua 2 to spy out the promise land. THey report back to Joshua

Joshua 2:24 “And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.”

They still had to defeat city after city. They still had to fight the battles , but because of the testimonies and promises of God they could stand and say we will not fail.

Israel did not boast of their works, military strategy, or skill. Rather their God!

He delivered, He provided, and He fought for them.

They had to trust His strategy. His strategy will always be different than what we can formulate with this human mind. IT was easier to trust when their relationship with Him was strong and even they failed at that in certain times.

Our word in 2024 was relationship and 2025 it is increase. Increase only comes through relationship. When we discover Him for who He is. It is not what we can do for Him but what he can do for us

When we move into that place of glory tht was preached Sunday we have a strong tower to run into. We have a refuge in which to hide.

Joshua 5 tells us that when the victories of Israels God reached the ears of the enemies their hearts melted/fainted and there was no spirit in them. There was no will to fight. The enemy was not scared of Israel but the God they served.

Conclusion:

Allow me to use the words of Joshua “Sanctify yourselves; tomorrw the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Somebody needs to remeber what God has done for you. The miracles he has worked in your life. The answered prayers. Do not let anything or anybody keep you at a place where hope has evaded you and questions have flooded your mind.

Tell of His marvelous works. Thanks Him for his might acts. Tomorrow he will works wonders in your life. Stand on what He has done in your life.

II Cor 2:19 We are made perfect in weakness.

Paul said (I Pet 4:12-13) Rejoice in suffering...that you can rejoice when His glory is revealed.

The glory of God is about to be revealed in someones life. It is time to boast of His mighty works