Lost Hope?

Why are you in despair, oh my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my countenance and my God. Psalms 43:5


Without Hope life is desolate like a desert.  When we have nothing to hope for, sadness can overwhelm us.  Even when things that we think are going well fall apart, we lose hope that it will ever be good again.  When friends  or spouses fight, we can lose hope in the friendship. We can lose hope of ever finding love or of ever getting a job.  Everyday we hope for something or we lose hope in something.  Mostly lost hope is temporary but when you are in the midst of losing hope, it feels permanent.

The Psalmist says hope in God but what does that really mean?  Is hope similar to faith which we learned a few weeks ago is not something we conjure up but something we need to ask God for. (see blog post Hope and Faith)

Romans 15:13 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Another way of saying hope is to wait on the Lord with confident expectation.

Again  what is hope?  The modern idea of hope is “to wish for, to expect, but without certainty of the fulfillment; to desire very much, but with no real assurance of getting your desire.” (Bible.org)
I don't care for the modern view because I trust in God.  He may not fulfill my every wish but when I wait on Him, he will provide what I need and what is best for me in the proper time.  Maybe a job, a renewed friendship or a new friend will come our way if we wait on the Lord.

 Romans 8:24-25 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it  (Bible.org)

 I recently was hoping for something to be successful and for awhile it seemed to do well, but lately not so much.  I became discouraged and began to lose hope.  Today I am determined to wait on the God for whatever comes, whether what I hoped for will be successful in my eyes or not.  It is up to God and I will try very hard not to fret about it.  I have asked God for more faith and I continue to Hope (wait) for His answer to be shown.

 If you are struggling today with lost hope, I encourage you to talk to God and continue to hope, but in a slightly different way, by waiting for God's answer in the situation knowing that He loves you and has your best interest in His heart.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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