3 Solutions To Any Problem: Part 2

What Is Your Hope In?

“Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31)

Let’s be honest here, all of us lose hope at one point in life or another. We all get tired of the journey and want to give up. It’s basically a fact of life. Life is hard and sometimes we just feel like throwing in the towel. But as this verse in Isaiah says, we don’t have to give up, because if our hope is in the Lord, he will renew us and give us what it takes to take the next step. So, what exactly is hope anyways? According to Emily Dickinson, “Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.” Hope is something, like faith, that is inside of you, that no one else can take away, and as Emily says, never stops, unless you make it. The New Century Dictionary defines hope as, “looking forward to something you really expect to happen.” By looking at this definition, you can see how faith and hope are so closely related. It appears to me that you have to have faith in “something you really expect to happen.” And then hope appears, “looking forward to something” So, the question we need to answer today is what is that something? Once again the Bible gives us some clear answers of a few “somethings” we can hope for.
First, let’s talk about what not to put our hope in. “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” (1 Timothy 6:17). We cannot put hope in material things or earthly things. Many people go through life saying, “If only . . .” If only I could make more money, then we could get out of financial trouble and my worries would be over. If only my husband would be more supportive of me, then our marriage would be great and I would be happy. If only, people would stop hurting me, then I would be able to love my neighbor as myself. We are looking for solutions to our problems, when the solution is right in front of our eyes. Money won’t solve your problems. Your husband changing won’t solve your problems. Other people won’t solve your problems. The solution to your problem is something only you can fix. That is putting your hope in the Lord instead of in things and people. Money and things are only temporary. People are human and they will fail you. Notice I didn’t say they might fail you, I said they will fail you. NO matter how godly the person is, they will still fail you at some point in time or not live up to your expectations. But God will never leave you, nor forsake you. So, if you are thinking that some of these things will fix your emptiness, you are mistaken. Only God can do that. By first having faith in him and then putting your hope in him. This won’t necessarily make your problems go away, but they won’t be burdensome because you know that God is working to do what is best for all involved.
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God,” (Psalm 42:5, 42:11, 43:5). I find it interesting that the psalmist said the exact same thing, three times within two chapters. I think he was trying to make a point. Sometimes we are stubborn and need to be told things many times before we actually get it. If you have been a Christian for very long, you know in your head that your hope should be in the Lord. But does your heart actually do that? If you are downcast, sad, depressed then your hope is probably not in the Lord, but in something or someone else. You are probably looking somewhere else for your happiness.
You may be wondering, how exactly do I put my hope in the Lord? When a situation arises that causes you to be worried or depressed, you must first take it to God. Give him complete control of the situation. Then He will give you hope. “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him,” (Psalm 62:5). Giving it to God, gives your soul a break because no longer is it your responsibility. Now it is Gods and he knows the best solution for this problem. So knowing that “all things work to the good of those who love Him and are called according to his purposes” helps you to put your hope in God and then He in turn gives you more hope. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us “For I know the plans I have for you, “ declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God has great plans for us. He wants to give us hope for the future. But when we don’t give our problems to him and let him have control over them, we actually get in God’s way and prevent him from being able to give us prosperity and hope. In order to believe these things, we must first put our hope in the word of God, the good book, the Bible. You have to have faith and believe that every single word in the bible is true. Once you believe this, then you can have hope, knowing that you are promised a future in heaven and so many other great things. You have hope because you know that you are never alone and that you are always loved. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” God gave us the Bible so that we could have hope. I can’t say it any better than that. “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word,” (Psalm 119:114). When we do put our hope in the word of God, we have a place of safety to run to (His word), and we have a place of protection (His word). Immersing yourself in the word of God and meditating on it and memorizing it gives you some protection from the schemes of Satan because then when he tempts you or lies to you, you can counter it with the truth of the Bible. It also puts positive, true thought in your head that helps you have a better attitude.
So, when we put our hope in God. We have hope in a bright, eternal future. We have hope that what he says in the Bible is true, which in turn gives us all kinds of reasons to have hope. We have hope of his unconditional, unfailing, unending love. We have hope of prosperity and blessings. We have hope of his faithfulness to answer our prayers. We have hope that, “he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” Then when we hope in the Lord and He renews our strength like it says in Isaiah, we are armed and ready to face any battles that life brings our way and we will soar through life like a beautiful, majestic eagle. Not that there won’t be problems, but we will still be able to run through them and not become weary. Take a few minutes right now to think and pray and find out: Is your hope in the Lord? If it's not, put it there right now. You won't regret it.