Listen to this articleUsername of the writer: ArticleProf
Are you going through suffering and turmoil in your life? Just put your Hope in Jesus.
Hope is when we desire or believe that something good will come out in the future even though we are suffering in one way or another in the present. Hope keeps most of us in progress no matter what we are going through currently, and hence it is crucial to have it. In our day-to-day life, sometimes we are slapped by heavy emotions such as depression and anger, and we end up feeling hopeless, which can culminate to dangerous levels where we even start having suicidal thoughts. The feelings of hopelessness may arise when we suffer significant losses or go through a period of uncertainty. As believers of Christ Jesus, we have somewhere that we should run to any time we have feelings of hopelessness, and we should share the hope of Jesus to other people going through something difficulties.
The Bible has many Scriptures that we can read to have our hope back during storms, and hence the word of God gives us new hope and renews our mind every time we read and meditate on it. We can regain our hope through a couple of ways, such as having funny conversations, new and fascinating opportunities to do what we love most or even having a meditative walk. However, as believers, we are blessed to have more effective ways of dealing with hopelessness where we can seek refuge from God by praying and reading the Scriptures.
The word of God reminds us that even though we are going through tough times, we can always find hope, and as believers, we are not supposed to sink into the pits of depression, despair, and hopelessness. We all know that Job went through a period of severe challenges, but because of the great faith that he had in God, he never gave up, and he remained hopeful. As narrated in the book of Job, the story shows how Job went through a period of suffering more than any other character in the Bible. Before his suffering, Job was wealthy and had a good name and a good family as well. Then Satan attacked him with a tragedy thinking that he would curse God. Through this tragedy, Job lost everything he had, including his wealth, livestock, and crops. He also lost his good health, children, and excellent relationship with his wife and friends. But despite all the suffering, Job praised the name of God contrary to what was expected (Job 1:20-21). Job still had faith and hope in God. This story teaches us as believers that we are much more resilient than we believe we are, and hence we should never lose our hope in God. God is always ready to help us, and there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
The Bible says that there is hope for a tree that has been cut down. With enough water, the stump will produce sprouts that will grow into plants (Job 14:7-9). That means when life knocks us down as believers that we even lose our self-confidence, we still can find hope. We can navigate through our sufferings by asking for help from God and our loved ones. That way, we shall keep growing and regain our strength. Indeed, God rescues the orphan and the needy that they may have hope (Job 5:15-16). As followers of Christ, we know that God is always watching and will always protect us when we are vulnerable to any threats. These threats may weaken us, but they cannot kill us when God is watching, and therefore, we ultimately overcome them and become even stronger.
We should find hope in the promises of God whenever we face any difficulties as believers. The Scriptures in Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 say that our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever and hence his promises will never change for those who love him. We should always cling to the promise that God always goes with us, and He will never leave us nor forsake us no matter what we go through in life (Deuteronomy 31:6). We face storms and troubles as followers of Christ mainly because we live in a world that has many evils and sins, and hence we must be ready to go through some problems. The good thing is that the Lord delivers the righteous from all these troubles (Psalm 34:19). We can see that even the Israelites had to fight their enemies who had occupied the beautiful and abundant land that they had been promised so that they could make it their home. The Lord was with the Israelites, and they defeated their enemies, and so if the Lord is with us, we shall always overcome all the difficulties that we go through.
All we need to do as believers to overcome the troubles and the suffering we face in the world is to cast them unto the Lord. Our focus should not be on the problems we are facing. Instead, we should put our focus on the Lord, and He will surely help us. The Bible reminds us that Christ cares for us, and hence we should cast all our anxiety unto him (1 Peter 5:7). The Lord will only help us when we cast our troubles unto him because it shows that we have put our trust only in him. Furthermore, most of us have memorized Psalm 121 since our Sunday school days because it is a very critical Psalm that gives us hope whenever we feel hopeless. The main lesson we can derive from Psalm 121 is to lift our eyes unto the Lord and not our problems. When we learn not to focus on our problems, we can never be overwhelmed.
Indeed, life is not easy, but God is always faithful to those that love him. I have struggled with many problems in my life, but I have never allowed hopelessness in me. I have gone through poverty and lack, but I always hoped that one day I would have enough for myself, my loved ones, and the needy around me, and today I am a living testimony that poverty never lasts. If I had not found my hope in Jesus probably, I would allow negative thoughts to overwhelm me and kill my dreams. I have also gone through sickness, but learning to put my hope in Christ has been very helpful.
Let us always put our hope in God regardless of the circumstance we are in at any particular moment. Placing our hope in Him will also help us live an authentic holy life by constantly purifying ourselves as instructed in 1 John 3:3.
Originally posted 2021-08-06 00:30:00.
