Question: I have lost my hope. How do I find it again?
Answer: I have faced times of hopelessness as I battled to overcome 16 years of depressiveness. However, to lose hope means the object of our hope may be misplaced.
The Bible is plain on the object of our hope as found in Colossians 1:27. It states: “Which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” As Jesus becomes our hope, hope begins to be restored to us.
What is hope? The dictionary defines hope as “expectation of something desired.” When our expectation is off focus with the Word of God, then our desires will be unfulfilling. An example will illustrate. A wife with the false expectation and desire that her husband will become a Christian and lead the family is more than likely going to face disappointment. Why? Because her focus (hope) is more upon her husband than God. The more she witnesses to him and invites him to church the more he resists. The wife’s hope begins to slowly fade and she possibly can become depressed.
What happened? Since hope comes from God, “…Christ in you, the hope of glory,” Colossians 1:27, it must be focused upon God and not people, situations, circumstances or events, in meeting our needs. People, situations, circumstances or events are beyond our right or ability to control. Therefore, placing “external hope” in these areas of life, instead of internal hope in Jesus, never satisfies or works. The following steps may help restore hope:
1. Repent and confess all sin of misplacing hope.
2. Cease looking to people, situations, circumstances or events by starting to look to God. 1 Peter 1:21 states, “Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.”
3. Place hope back in God because all our expectations and desires are in Him and come from Him – it is a living hope. 1 Peter 1:3 states, “3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
4. Trust God to work in areas where hope is misplaced. Jeremiah 17:7-8 states, “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”
Friends, place your hope in Jesus and you will not be disappointed. Others have discovered new hope and now you can experience hope as never before.
Lend Me Your Hope
Edited by: Dr. Rickey A. Nation, Ph.D.
Lend me your hope for a while, I seem to have mislaid mine. Lost and hopeless feelings accompany me daily, pain and confusion are my companions. I know not where to turn; looking ahead to future times does not bring forth images of renewed hope. I see troubled times, pain filled days, and more tragedy.
Lend me your hope for awhile, I seem to have mislaid mine. Hold my hand and hug me; listen to all my ramblings, recovery seems so far distant. The road to [emotional healing and spiritual freedom] seems like a long and lonely one.
Lend me your hope for awhile, I seem to have mislaid mine. Stand by me, offer me your presence, your heart and love. Acknowledge my pain, it is so real and ever present. I am overwhelmed with sad and conflicting thoughts.
Lend me your hope for awhile; a time will come when I will heal [from all emotional pain and be set free from all spiritual bondage], and I will share my renewal, hope and love with others.
0 Comments