Hope

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

On a regular basis many people lose heart and get sad, depressed and without hope. Things go wrong or not the way expected and there does not appear to be anyway to make things better. Many turn to various types of drugs in order to attempt to cope with the loss of heart. Others turn to suicide, thinking that there is no hope left or ability to make things better.

David says that he would have lost heart unless he believed that he would see the goodness of God while still alive on the earth.

Losing heart, or depression is a common feeling among people all over the world. Hundreds of different medications are made available for people to deal with their loss of heart, rather than pointing to the truth.

Those who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior have a legitimate reason to lose heart in this life. All that the world will bring a person is a temporary pleasure and then death in the end. There is no hope outside of Jesus.

It is different for the believer. At a minimum there is hope of eternal life if one should die in any way. However, there is much more. Every believer can know that one will see the goodness of God while still on this earth, no matter how bad the circumstances get or appear to be.

God works in and through every situation for the good of those who believe in and trust Him. Believers need to make the choice to not lose heart or get depressed, because they know that God is with them, will sustain them, and bless them in this life and the life to come.

There will be days in your life in which trials and troubles strive to overcome you and crush you. Hope appears to disappear, attempting to get you to lose heart and not trust in God’s great mercy and love.

Turn your eyes upon God and believe that He has your best in mind as you go through those troubles. Know that you will still see His goodness while living on this planet. Do not lose heart! But trust in the hope you have in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know the hope that God gives you for each day; that you will see God’s goodness in your life each day; and that God will help you to not lose heart and be depressed.

Picture by John Towner on Unsplash

But when I looked for good, evil came to me; and when I waited for light, then came darkness. Job 30:26

There are times in the life of nearly everyone in which everything that can go wrong does go wrong. One looks for good things and everything good appears to be just out of reach. All that is seen or felt is pain and suffering, physically, emotionally, economically and socially. Everything is dark with bad, and hope appears to be elusive and gone. Waiting and hoping for something good appears to be a wasted effort of time.

Job states that as he is looking for good only evil arrived and when looking for light there was only darkness.

Trouble hits the lives of people on and off all over the world. Difficulties surmount to levels that appears to crush a person under the weight of it. Many in the world will throw the towel in and give up, thinking that there is nothing left good in the world for them.

Believers are also not immune to troubles of this level. It can overwhelm and crush some believers, because they lose sight of God and begin to forget all of His promises. Part of this is because some in the church have said that once one becomes a believer everything will be easy and successful in God.

Jesus, however, had said something different that there would be trouble in this world. Paul said that believers would be knocked down and hard pressed. But both said that God will overcome. There is a hope that the world does not have.

Every problem in this world is only temporary and very light in view of eternity with God. As Job cried out, he did not see what God was doing behind the scenes. Believers must also keep in mind that God is doing a great work in their lives behind the scenes despite the problems.

You will have days, weeks, months, even years that are filled with trouble and difficulties. You may be seeking for good and light and all you see is evil and darkness.

Do not give up. Continue to believe in God. He is in control and in the end, you will have eternal life with no more suffering or pain. No matter how great the problems are, God is with you and will save you. Hold on to the hope you have in Jesus.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will look to God in good and bad times; that you will trust God with all of your life; that you will not lose hope in Christ’s salvation promised to you; and that God will give you strength in times of trouble and pain.

Photo: Sasha Matic by Unsplash