The God of Hope - The Warrior's Journey®

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“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) 

Under what circumstances can a Christian believer, ever lose hope? Perhaps when the world is in chaos? Yet remember, this is your Father’s world and He has commanded you to cease your striving, to know that He is God, and to be assured that He will be exalted in the earth (Psalm 24:1; 46:10). Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not overcome it (Matthew 16:18). 

Is your career in jeopardy? Are you facing legal trouble and imprisonment? Look at Joseph, the son of Jacob. Even when he suffered imprisonment, God was with him (Genesis 39:2, 21). In fact, God was using Joseph’s incarceration to prepare him for a position of power in the future (Genesis 50:20). Look at King Manasseh. God used prison to stop the downward-spiraling of his life and bring him back to God.  And when he called upon the LORD, God forgave him and delivered him from prison and restored him to his throne (2 Chronicles 33:10-16).  Look at Paul the apostle. God used his imprisonment to bring the light of Christ to those in darkness (Acts 16:22-34; 22-28). Prison is not a show-stopper in God’s divine plan. It may very well be part of His plan. 

Are you terminally ill? Is that reason to lose hope?  Certainly not. For one thing, God is the Great Physician and no doctor’s prognosis can hinder God’s hand from healing us. Even if God chooses not to heal us in this life, we shouldn’t interpret our sickness as a sign of His disapproval. Our bodies are already “dead” because of sin’s ravages (Romans 8:10). So sickness is the norm, not the exception. Besides, God can use terminal illness to prepare us to meet Him and to help our loved ones prepare for our departure. Elijah the prophet died of a sickness, yet it was no indication of God’s disapproval. In fact, so sacred and potent were his dead bones that when a corpse came in contact with them, the dead person came back to life (2 Kings 13:14-21). 

Perhaps the hopelessness is about your own soul’s condition. Maybe when you read the Bible you only find foreboding messages. If so, then you’re getting the wrong message. For Paul tells us that the purpose of the Scripture is to give us hope (Romans 15:4). And God is the God of hope. Feelings of condemnation and hopelessness never come from God, only from the devil and his demons. For there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. God tells us that He loves us freely, unconditionally (Hosea 14:4). And none of this world’s evils can ever push us beyond the reach of His love (Romans 8:35-39).   

REFLECTION 

  • Is there any situation in your life which God cannot redeem and turn to good? 
  • Is there any earthly sorrow that one moment in heaven will not heal? 
  • Dismiss you dark doubts and lay hold of the truth of God’s bright promises.   

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