Hope - It’s Not as Scarce as You Might Think!

I was scrolling through Facebook and I noticed how my joy and hope began to sink...

The reality is that life is hard - profoundly so at times, it’s hard right now! There are many, many people hurting now because of many reasons…

This has been true throughout history...

I often think about what life must have been like during the depression in America...Or during the dark agesOr what the New Testament Church facedOr during the times the Psalms were written.

Stick with me until the end of today’s sermon and I’ll give you five principles from God’s Word to increase your hope in difficult times!

Before we get there, I’d like to draw your attention to a few verses in Psalm 119 that lament about the difficulties of life. Much like we see in social media today.

But what makes me appreciate this psalm is not the familiar lament, but the antidote for the lament.

Do you know what the antidote for lament is?

Hope!

Hope in what? You see, that’s the key, isn’t it. Whatever one places his or her hope in must be substantial and worthy of such a distinction.

For example, I could place my hope in Superman and believe that he will save me if I’m ever in trouble. The problem isn’t the quality of my faith, the trouble is the fictitious nature of the object of my faith.

In other words, no matter how sincerely I believe in Superman and his ability to rescue me, the simple fact that he doesn’t exist, ruins any prospect of hope!

But we, you and I - Christian - have our hope rooted in something far greater than a fictional character or idea! Our hope is in God who is revealed in the Bible and demonstrated/proved throughout history!

So, let’s go back in history and look at an ancient Psalm that sounds as if it were written in a blog or social media post today!

Psalm 119:81-88 ESV

“My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. My eyes long for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?” For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes. How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me? The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; they do not live according to your law. All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me! They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.”

The psalmist asks the question that many of us are asking God.

When will you comfort me?

I have become like a wine skin in the smoke - dried and shriveled up.

How long must your servant endure?

When will you judge those that persecute me?

The insolent have dug pitfalls for me; the do not live according to your law - the ungodly who desire for the godly to fail! To be destroyed!

They persecute me with falsehood! HELP!

They have almost made and end to me on the earth!

Hopeless! Struggling! Fearful! Despairing!

All of these emotions and more!

These are emotions that you feel too, right?

How are you supposed to manage these kind of heavyweight emotions? What are you supposed to do when power feelings like these crush in on you like a massive wave from Lake Michigan? How can you possibly stand, when these feelings are trying to know you down?

Hope!

“Hope” is commonly used to mean a wish : its strength is the strength of the person's desire. But in the Bible hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1758-6623.1952.tb01593.x

And we can hope in our God because he is faithful!

I want you to see how the psalmist counsels himself with the truth regarding God thus increasing his hope in a hopeless situation!

My soul longs for your salvation - hope in the promise of God’s salvation!

I hope in your word - the Word of God uttered from the mouth of God!

My eyes long for your promise - Looking for the return of the Lord and the promise of heaven!!

I have not forgotten your statutes - regularly meditating and memorizing God word only increases our hope!

All your commandments are sure - a recognition of the superiority of God commands. How? Obedience proves them to be true!

I have not forsaken you precepts - a faithfulness in following and not forsaking Gods truth will increase your level of hope.

In your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth - God’s steadfast / unending love is life giving and enables us to persevere and move forward and remaining faithful until the end!

Okay, now I told you I’d give you six principles from God’s Word to increase your hope in difficult times!

Set your heart on God’s Heaven -

Set your mind on God’s Word -

Set your eyes on God’s promises -

Set your memory on God’s statutes -

Set your will to obey God’s Truth -

How? How can I set my heart, mind, eyes, memory and will to obey God’s truth? By remembering God’s stedfast love for you. A steadfast love that gives you life!

That’s what God’s love does. His love rescues. His love restores. His love gives life! His love is our only HOPE! Without the STEADFAST LOVE of God you have no hope!

How can you say God loves me when all of this mayhem and devastation is happening around me?

Because of this beautiful truth found in Romans 5:1-8

Romans 5:1–8 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

This is our hope, folks! This is the Gospel! You had no strength to save yourself so God graciously, loving did it for you. By faith you receive this gift!