Where Can We Find Hope?

When life feels very hard and pressures are high, when we feel let down and pressed down, when days feel dark and life pale, when joy feels far gone with no trace to hold on to, how do we find hope and remain hopeful in God?

The Apostle Paul gives us a great reminder in Romans 15:4, where he says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

When things are difficult, we can be tempted to let our circumstances “decide” our hope because with the little strength we have, our heart could just be following where our eyes go, and our eyes don’t see a very hopeful reality in front of us – this is a very broken world with lots of wickedness in it after all. So we might become discouraged, even feeling depressed with a nagging anxiety that doesn’t seem to ever go away, with sleepless nights that make it just so much worse. We sigh and our soul groans for hope, for joy, for some light.

Paul gives us the “map”, pointing us to the way of hope: “through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures.”
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For some of us, our first thought might be, “Oh no, not endurance! This is too hard to endure, how am I suppose to do it?” Our second thought might be, “Read the Bible….Do I have to do it? I don’t want to read the Bible. I am in pain, I have no strength nor desire to do anything, I just want to be lying down and feel sad.” (Or maybe all that you want to do is to complain or lash out on someone as they happen to cross you.)

My dear friend, the battle is usually won at the hardest point, which is where you are at right now. You are at a crossroad, you either choose the left path or the right path. The left path is an easy path requiring you to do nothing but to follow your own desires and do all that feels good or easy to your flesh (e.g., lying down, feeling sad and licking your own wounds), but it leads deeper darkness; the right path looks like a hard one to the eyes because it requires you to get up and fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12), with the full armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), but it leads to the light of life (John 8:12).

I understand that it could feel hard to get up and even feel impossible to fight the spiritual battle right now, but willing to do it or not, you are already in the battlefield. The least (and one of the best things) that you can do is to say a simple prayer to God, “Lord, I don’t have strength to fight. Would you give me the strength to fight the good fight? Would you deliver me from the deep waters?” It’s a prayer that pleases the Lord, and He is faithful and able to do it for you.

While you fight this good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12) in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, you are ENDURING whatever suffering you are going through (note that this doesn’t include domestic abuse as we won’t ask anyone to endure domestic abuse). And in this hard process of fighting and enduring, only the God of hope can sustain you, and He will sustain you to the end (Ps. 55:22) as you cling to Him and trust in Him. In suffering and distress, you are like a thirsty and weary soldier in a battlefield, and where does your hope come from? It comes from the God of love and grace who speaks to you gently and firmly with promises to keep you, help you, and deliver you – He encourages you throughout this battle with His WORD, to give you direction and guidance on how to face the difficulties and challenges before you, and on how to live this life before His face (Ps. 119:105).

Beloved, resist the temptation to find comfort else where, resist the temptation to escape from pain and to hide from God. Rather, run to Him, and immerse yourself in the precious and beautiful words that He speaks to you in the Scriptures, because there you will see Christ the true image of God shine in front of your eyes sacrificing His life to give you life and hope, and you will see the love of God unfold to give you hope for the past, the present and the future, to call you back to Him, and to guide you home – the arms of God, your Creator, Sustainer, Comforter, Helper, Shepherd, King, Lord, and Savior.

In the shadow of His wings, you will find protection, direction, and the power of perseverance.
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So I pray with Paul, “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.” (Rom. 15:13) In God’s presence, may you find rest for your soul with the smile of joy in your eyes and with the praise of God on your lips, may your hope shine always like the stars with a heart of thankfulness.

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