God of Hope!

Hope is a tricky word.  Oxford Dictionary defines it as, 'a belief that something you want will happen.'  But we use it as an uncertainty only.  If we say, 'I hope you are coming tomorrow,' it means the person's coming is doubtful!  Dr Curt Richter, a scientist, took a dozen rats and placed them into buckets half-filled with water to test how long they could swim before giving up.  Unsurprisingly, the rats gave up and sank after just 15 minutes.  In the second experiment, they did the same as above, but right before the rats gave up, they plucked them out, dried them off, let them rest for a few minutes, and put them back in for a second round.  Now, the rats swam much longer than they had the first time.  The rats could push their bodies past what they thought impossible because they believed their rescue would come somehow!

Every suicide marks the end of a journey of hopelessness.  That is why God commands us to read the Bible and reflect upon the nature of God, unchanging over the ages.  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  He can help us like He had helped His people in the past.  I was impressed when my granddaughter Annika told me she writes a gratitude journal daily.  Such journals help us focus on how God has helped us in the past, giving us hope.  Without hope, we would perish in our trials.  We must not lose hope in God.  He is the God of all hope.  The result of hope is joy and peace.  "Why art thou cast down, O my soul?  Why art thou disquieted?" said the Psalmist.  He is talking about depression and unrest.  The opposite of that is joy and peace.   Hope comes from believing the Word of God.  Our belief is based upon the fact that God said it, and because He said it, it would be so.  "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

My friend, the Lord who guided the Israelites through the desert is our God!  The God who fed them with manna from heaven and water from the rock is our God.  God who gave sight to the blind and raised the dead is our God.  Do not lose hope.  Look to Jesus.  Turn to Jesus and seek Him.  He will help you today.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:13).  

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