Let God In: The Choice That Brings Real Hope

Abandon all hope here

Many people today live with a feeling of dread.

We hear of wars and conflict in places like Ukraine and Palestine.

We read reports of famine in different parts of the world.

We have a cost-of-living crisis in this country.

Prices of food and energy are going up, and up, and show no signs of stopping.

The government seems to treat people - especially the vulnerable - in more and more inhumane ways.

People feel disenfranchised by the political system - genuinely believing that whichever way they vote, it changes nothing.

People feel as if they are no longer in control of their own destinies.

Then we have the climate crisis, tariffs, espionage, and so much more.

Life can feel futile, and like walking uphill knee-deep in mud.

What’s the answer to all of this?

I believe it is to make a hope choice.

It is to choose that God exists, that I matter to him, and that he has the power to help me to change.

Matthew 5:4 NLT

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

When you hear those words, you notice that Jesus’ path to hope and comfort is different to the one we naturally take.

Jesus says that the things we try to avoid are often God’s path to real comfort and hope.

I don’t want to mourn all the wars and conflict going on in this world.

I don’t want to mourn the famine in this world, especially when I remember how much food I have to eat.

I don’t want to mourn the cost-of-living crisis and face up to the fact that some of my neighbours might be struggling to make ends meet.

I don’t want to mourn some of the inhumane policies our government come up with to deal with vulnerable people like asylum seekers and rough sleepers.

I don’t want to mourn the fact that people feel so disenfranchised by the political system that they are turning to more extreme parties to see if they can make a difference.

I don’t want to mourn the problems of climate change, or the rise of AI, or all sorts of other problems I don’t seem able to shake off.

Instead, we look for escapism

In shopping - some retail therapy. Go out and buy something and feel better about life.

In entertainment - feeling bad about life, go to the cinema and watch a film, or binge watch a new TV series.

In alcohol - a bad day, or the news depresses us, and we reach for a drink to feel better.

In gambling - when life feels uncomfortable, or our money feels stretched - we play the National Lottery, or pop into the bookies, or book a trip to Vegas.

Or it can be food, or work, all sorts of ways we try to escape from our feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

The problem is of course, that all these ways we try to escape only give us momentary comfort and hope

Instead, Jesus turns happiness and hope upside-down

He says the deepest happiness and blessings in life come from choosing to mourn the bad things that happen in life and the world.

It’s choosing to accept these things happen, and to realise the world doesn’t hold the hope that I need.

And to look to God for the comfort I need.

So, how do you find this path to comfort and hope?

By recognising who God really is

He is a God of compassion.

He is compassionate about your hurts and your pain.

He says, I can help you through this, if you’ll let me.

He is full of mercy and comfort.

God loves you.

He comforts you.

And he gives you hope.

And then recognising that God has the power to change the world, starting with me

This is not about us changing for God.

It’s about God changing you and me through his power.

If each of us opens up to God and allows him to apply his peace to our hearts and our souls, and moulds us into peacemakers, then there will be less conflict in the world.

If we open up to God and see how generous he is to us, and we allow him to grow a heart of generosity in us, then there will be less famine in the world.

If we allow God to open our hearts and minds to the simple life that his Son Jesus lived whilst he was on earth, then perhaps the cost-of-living crisis would begin to have less of an impact on us.

If we allow God to make our hearts burn with some of the injustices that are meted out in our world, then we might be the ones to protest some of the inhumanity that goes on in our world and reach out to those who are vulnerable and scared.

If God grows hearts in us that mourn the powerlessness that some many people feel in the world today, perhaps we will become the people who are passionate about making a positive difference in our community.

That’s the sort of choices that bring real hope.

If you feel hopeless today, about the world, or about your own life, then allow God to give you the comfort and hope you need, and the power to change your life, and the lives of those around you.