It
is quite easy to look at the present circumstances in our own lives, in our
country and in the world, and feel hopeless. Questions like, “Can things ever
change?” and “Will it ever get better?” are natural.
I want to emphasize my choice of the word, “natural,” meaning “of the world” or “worldly.”
I was talking with Jesus about hopelessness, and He had quite a few things to say about the feeling. His first statement was that hopelessness is like a black, bubbling river that flows in our hearts. Sometimes it flows above ground where we can see it, and sometimes it flows underground, hidden from our consciousness, but whether we are aware of it or not, hopelessness undermines our foundation. If it flows on our hearts, it erodes the ground on which we stand.
He brought to mind His conversation with His disciples prior to entering Jerusalem. Fearing what was going to happen to Jesus in Jerusalem, and succumbing to hopelessness and despair, the disciples begged Jesus not to go into Jerusalem. Contrast their response with Jesus, Who knowing full well exactly what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, still willingly rode as a victor into the city. Nothing undermined His foundation, and He kept His assurance and certainty that He was walking the right path.
Next, Jesus told me that hopelessness has to do with observing or experiencing the (accurate) hopelessness in the world without Him, and extending that hopelessness to include everything, as if He is not involved in our lives. In other words, when we agree with hopelessness, we agree with a belief that states God is not a partner with us in the working out of His will. Hopelessness assumes He is not present, He is not alive, He is not with us, He is not for us, and He is not involved. He then asked a very poignant question: If things are hopeless, why pray? Prayer, He said, comes from hope. And, He reiterated, hope does not disappoint. Romans 5:5 states it this way: “5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Some people may choose not to be transformed by Christ, and certainly the actions of those people in the world, as well as the intentions of the enemy of God, bear consequences in the world – sometimes consequences for those of us who have been transformed by Christ. But Jesus is not an uninvolved bystander. He is the Redeemer. Redemption means saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. It also means the recovery of something mortgaged (in our case, our lives are mortgaged due to sin – sometimes our own, sometimes the sin of others). As our Redeemer, He restores what has been lost. He will intervene on our behalf, for our sakes.
Jesus continued the conversation by saying hopelessness can come when we put our hopes in something else besides Him. We may hope in people in our lives, but they will disappoint us, even if they love us and we love them. We may hope in some particular circumstance working out, but it may or may not work in our favor or as we want – not something to rely on as a support for hope in our hearts. We may hope in those in authority over us, but as human beings they will surely fail. Our hope is in Him and in Him alone. Isaiah 49:23 states: “Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
If you look at your circumstances and feel hopeless, look instead at Jesus. If you see the failings of those around you and despair, focus instead on the never-failing love of Jesus. If you notice your own sin, and how you fall short in many ways, and feel hopeless to ever change, go to Jesus in prayer and let His truth transform you. If you observe our nation and the world around us spiraling ever farther down into the abyss and you fear for the future and feel powerless to do anything to stop the decline, turn to Jesus. Listen to His encouragement. Put your hope in His promises and His presence. Let your prayers for yourself, for those you love, and for the nation and the world, flow out of your hope in Him. He and He alone is our hope!
I want to emphasize my choice of the word, “natural,” meaning “of the world” or “worldly.”
I was talking with Jesus about hopelessness, and He had quite a few things to say about the feeling. His first statement was that hopelessness is like a black, bubbling river that flows in our hearts. Sometimes it flows above ground where we can see it, and sometimes it flows underground, hidden from our consciousness, but whether we are aware of it or not, hopelessness undermines our foundation. If it flows on our hearts, it erodes the ground on which we stand.
He brought to mind His conversation with His disciples prior to entering Jerusalem. Fearing what was going to happen to Jesus in Jerusalem, and succumbing to hopelessness and despair, the disciples begged Jesus not to go into Jerusalem. Contrast their response with Jesus, Who knowing full well exactly what would happen to Him in Jerusalem, still willingly rode as a victor into the city. Nothing undermined His foundation, and He kept His assurance and certainty that He was walking the right path.
Next, Jesus told me that hopelessness has to do with observing or experiencing the (accurate) hopelessness in the world without Him, and extending that hopelessness to include everything, as if He is not involved in our lives. In other words, when we agree with hopelessness, we agree with a belief that states God is not a partner with us in the working out of His will. Hopelessness assumes He is not present, He is not alive, He is not with us, He is not for us, and He is not involved. He then asked a very poignant question: If things are hopeless, why pray? Prayer, He said, comes from hope. And, He reiterated, hope does not disappoint. Romans 5:5 states it this way: “5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
Some people may choose not to be transformed by Christ, and certainly the actions of those people in the world, as well as the intentions of the enemy of God, bear consequences in the world – sometimes consequences for those of us who have been transformed by Christ. But Jesus is not an uninvolved bystander. He is the Redeemer. Redemption means saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil. It also means the recovery of something mortgaged (in our case, our lives are mortgaged due to sin – sometimes our own, sometimes the sin of others). As our Redeemer, He restores what has been lost. He will intervene on our behalf, for our sakes.
Jesus continued the conversation by saying hopelessness can come when we put our hopes in something else besides Him. We may hope in people in our lives, but they will disappoint us, even if they love us and we love them. We may hope in some particular circumstance working out, but it may or may not work in our favor or as we want – not something to rely on as a support for hope in our hearts. We may hope in those in authority over us, but as human beings they will surely fail. Our hope is in Him and in Him alone. Isaiah 49:23 states: “Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.”
If you look at your circumstances and feel hopeless, look instead at Jesus. If you see the failings of those around you and despair, focus instead on the never-failing love of Jesus. If you notice your own sin, and how you fall short in many ways, and feel hopeless to ever change, go to Jesus in prayer and let His truth transform you. If you observe our nation and the world around us spiraling ever farther down into the abyss and you fear for the future and feel powerless to do anything to stop the decline, turn to Jesus. Listen to His encouragement. Put your hope in His promises and His presence. Let your prayers for yourself, for those you love, and for the nation and the world, flow out of your hope in Him. He and He alone is our hope!
