5 Messages of Hope in a Topsy Turvy World.

Do you know what I have learned over the last two years? I don’t like living history. Do you know what I mean? These kinds of things that our world and our country have walked through in the last two years are only things that until now I have read about in history books. I love history. As a school teacher, I really enjoyed teaching it. But I have found I don’t enjoy living it. Can you relate? 

I think the reason I don’t enjoy living it is because the ending is unknown. We are living a story. We don’t know how long we will need to walk through these times or what will happen along the way. The Bible assures us that God wins, but we don’t know what the actual outcome will look like or how we will get there.

The Bible is full of stories such as these. Joseph had no idea how long he would be in prison. He only knew that God’s promises assured him he would someday not be in prison. Abraham and Sarah had no idea how long they would have to wait for the promised son to be born to them, but God had made a covenant with them that there would be a son. Moses had no idea how long he would have to bargain with Pharaoh, or that God would part an actual sea for the Israelites to escape Egypt. God just told Moses to go, and He would take care of the details.

All these stories have faith in common. In order to continue to trust what God says about us and our story, we have to trust Him which requires faith. I also believe that faith requires hope. There are days when what we feel God promised us looks to be nowhere in sight. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The NIV says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” In order for hope to not just be a wish, we need faith. Faith gives us confidence that God will do what he says He will do. I believe if we lose hope, we also lose faith. And if we lose faith, we also lose hope.

I want to encourage you by pointing to five messages God gives us of hope through His Word. There are many, many more in the Bible, and I challenge you to explore them. However, I want to share five of my favorites to get you started on your journey of hope.

1. Deuteronomy 31:6 (NKJV) “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your god, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” 

This scripture actually appears a few times in the Bible. Here, Moses is speaking to the Israelites. They had experienced quite a bit in the wilderness, and Moses was preparing them to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. Even though it was the promised land from God and the place God had set aside for them, the Israelites were still going to have to fight for it. There were many good things in the land, but there were also giants and some tough battles ahead. Moses was reassuring them that if God had promised this land to them, He had already made a way to occupy it as well. God was promising them that He would not leave them nor forsake them in the midst of what they were about to walk through. The Israelites had to trust God and listen to Him. God also says again to Joshua shortly after Moses dies that He will not leave Joshua or forsake him.

What a hope filled promise we have here! The God of the Universe is saying to His people I will never leave you. Do you know what that tells me? If I can no longer feel God, where have I left Him? At what point did I veer off into fear and worry.  I need to go back and find that place and realize I need to continue to walk with God where He will not leave me. Not ask Him to venture down the anxiety path with me. 

2. Psalm 139:13-14 (The Passion Translation) “You formed my innermost being, shaping my delicate inside and my intricate outside, and wove them all together in my mother’s womb. I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex! Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking. It simply amazes me to think about it! How thoroughly you know me, Lord!”

This entire Psalm is wonderful. I challenge you to read it and stop and really think about what is being said. You will be encouraged! This particular portion stands out to me because David is praising God for how He was made.  David is human like the rest of us. I am sure there are parts of himself he did not like. In fact, when we first meet David when Samuel goes to anoint him as king, David was not even in the line up with the rest of his brothers to meet Samuel. His father had not even invited him into the house. But Samuel persisted, and David’s father had him summoned from the field. David was then anointed king. He had a long and difficult road to becoming king after being anointed, but God loved David’s heart. 

What does that have to do with us? Just like David, you were planned. God knew you and shaped you and intentionally formed you. He knew when you would be born, the circumstances you would be born into and what would be going on in the world when you were born. That means you have giftings and things inside you the world needs right now. You are not a mistake. You were not born to live a life either waiting to return to heaven or hiding from evil. You were born to partner with God at this very time in history to change the world! What an amazing thing to think about!

3. Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV) “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

What the God of the universe is saying to you is when I think about you, I have thoughts of your good not how I want to destroy you. I want to give you a future and a hope. The Bible also says God’s ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. God is all knowing. He sees the beginning of our life to the end of our life and all the areas in between. He absolutely knows what is best for us. We have to agree to trust Him.

A little further down in this passage God says in vs 12 “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.” Wow! We have the very ear of the God of the universe. He not only cares about us and wants what is best for us, He listens to us. Because we live in a fallen world, evil exists in this world. There are people that make terrible choices, and the consequences don’t just affect them. During those times, we need to understand that no matter what we are experiencing, God still thinks thoughts of peace towards us. He will listen, if we call to Him. 

4. Psalm 94:19 (NKJV) “In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.” The Passion Translation puts it this way, “Whenever my busy thoughts were out of control, the soothing comfort of your presence calmed me down and overwhelmed me with delight.”

I actually like both translations of this scripture. I don’t know about you, but I definitely identify with multitude of anxieties AND busy thoughts being out of control. No one can deny the world is a stressful place. There is much presented to us on a daily basis that we can choose to be afraid of. It can come from every direction.

But God!

But God can calm me down. But God can soothe me. But God makes me an overcomer. But God said He will never leave me nor forsake me. But God overwhelms me with delight.

The key here is God’s presence. The Bible says God is the vine. We are the branches. There is safety in that. If we, the branches, choose to disconnect from the vine we lose our source of strength and comfort. When you begin to feel anxious or overwhelmed, take a moment to connect to God’s presence. Ask Him to come and fill you up. He will be faithful to do that. The change will bring you delight. 

5. Romans 8:28 (NKJV) “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

This entire chapter in Romans is very encouraging. I challenge you to read it and see how God really views you. This particular verse stands out to me. There are so many things that happen in our lives that we can attribute to God’s blessing. But there are other things we experience such as disease or financial trouble or family issues that are the consequences of our own behavior or the consequences of someone else’s behavior. 

The reason this scripture encourages me is that God is saying whatever is happening in your life, I can use it. If it is the consequence of your own sins, repent and watch how God has an open door to turn things around. If it is the consequence of another’s sins, forgive those people and watch what God can do. In other words the very thing that the enemy is trying to use to take you out, God is saying cooperate with Me, and I will use that to destroy the enemy. That is pretty amazing!

Remember friend, God is always for us, never against us. The Bible is absolutely full of promises from Him and instructions on how to live a life victoriously no matter what is going on around you. He loves you so much more than you can understand. He longs to connect with you. He does not want to see you living in fear. He wants to see you living in the peace and hope that He so thoroughly paid for on the cross. 

Check out these other posts!

Five Things I Have Learned During a Crisis by Jessica Weaver. www.rootedunrooted.com/blog/five-things-i-have-learned-during-a-crisis

Five Good Things to Do for Your Soul in May by Dianne Vielhuber https://simplewordsoffaith.com/2022/05/01/need-to-fill-my-soul-this-spring/

5 Parenting Tips for Hard Times by Ashley Olivine https://ashleyolivine.com/parenting-tips-for-hard-times

Five Steps to Becoming a More Technically Savvy Boomer by Regina Marcazzo-Skarka https://reginamarcazzoskarka.wordpress.com/2022/05/01/five-steps-to-becoming-a-more-technologically-savvy-boomer/

Five Favorite Foods to Grow in Small Spaces by Jessica Haberman https://storytellerfarm.com/five-favorite-foods-to-grow-in-small-spaces/