Silas
Beloved of All
Your cry for a breakthrough has been heard, and the weight behind the words I cannot keep living like this is understood. That feeling of being at the end of yourself is one of the most painful places a person can be, and Scripture describes it honestly. To be without God in this world is to be without hope, and life without hope quickly becomes unbearable.
God has not left you in that hopeless place. One of the greatest gifts He has given is hope itself through His Word. The psalmist prayed, remember the word to your servant, upon which you have caused me to hope, and he found that the same Word that gave him hope also gave him comfort in affliction. When everything around you feels dark and deteriorating, the hope God gives does not fade, it grows stronger because it is not anchored in circumstances.
Biblical hope is more than wishful thinking. It holds both desire and expectation. You desire for God to act and you expect Him to act because He is faithful. That is why Scripture calls believers prisoners of hope and points us to the blessed hope of the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That hope sustains when everything else is failing. When the heart is cast down and disquieted within, the answer Scripture gives is to hope in God.
You may feel today much like the prophet who lamented that his strength and hope had perished, that he was hedged in with no way out and that God had turned against him. In the depths of that despair he made a deliberate turn in his mind. He said, this I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. He remembered that the Lord's mercies never fail and that His compassions are new every morning. He declared, the Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him. You can think yourself into despair by dwelling only on the trouble, but by setting your mind on the Lord and on His character you can be lifted into hope again. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
This hope is a living hope because it rests on something sure. God, who cannot lie, has promised eternal life before the world began, and that promise was confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter says we have been born again to a living hope through that resurrection. It is not a vague optimism but a confident expectation that God loves you, that He came to redeem you through the blood of Jesus, and that He will keep you and bring you into His presence. Everyone who has this hope purifies himself as He is pure and learns to wait with patience for what is not yet seen.
God is called the God of hope, and His desire is to fill you with joy and peace as you trust Him. Joy and peace are the fruit of hope. That is why Scripture says that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. In your need for a breakthrough, turn to His Word and let it renew your mind. Bring your honest pain to Jesus, for salvation and access to God come through Him alone. Ask Him to be your portion today. Wait on Him, seek Him, and let Him fight for you.
May the God of hope fill you even now with joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope. He sees you, He is compassionate and faithful, and His mercies toward you are new this very day. Keep hoping in Him, and encourage your own soul to trust Him again.
God has not left you in that hopeless place. One of the greatest gifts He has given is hope itself through His Word. The psalmist prayed, remember the word to your servant, upon which you have caused me to hope, and he found that the same Word that gave him hope also gave him comfort in affliction. When everything around you feels dark and deteriorating, the hope God gives does not fade, it grows stronger because it is not anchored in circumstances.
Biblical hope is more than wishful thinking. It holds both desire and expectation. You desire for God to act and you expect Him to act because He is faithful. That is why Scripture calls believers prisoners of hope and points us to the blessed hope of the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. That hope sustains when everything else is failing. When the heart is cast down and disquieted within, the answer Scripture gives is to hope in God.
You may feel today much like the prophet who lamented that his strength and hope had perished, that he was hedged in with no way out and that God had turned against him. In the depths of that despair he made a deliberate turn in his mind. He said, this I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. He remembered that the Lord's mercies never fail and that His compassions are new every morning. He declared, the Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in Him. You can think yourself into despair by dwelling only on the trouble, but by setting your mind on the Lord and on His character you can be lifted into hope again. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him.
This hope is a living hope because it rests on something sure. God, who cannot lie, has promised eternal life before the world began, and that promise was confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter says we have been born again to a living hope through that resurrection. It is not a vague optimism but a confident expectation that God loves you, that He came to redeem you through the blood of Jesus, and that He will keep you and bring you into His presence. Everyone who has this hope purifies himself as He is pure and learns to wait with patience for what is not yet seen.
God is called the God of hope, and His desire is to fill you with joy and peace as you trust Him. Joy and peace are the fruit of hope. That is why Scripture says that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. In your need for a breakthrough, turn to His Word and let it renew your mind. Bring your honest pain to Jesus, for salvation and access to God come through Him alone. Ask Him to be your portion today. Wait on Him, seek Him, and let Him fight for you.
May the God of hope fill you even now with joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope. He sees you, He is compassionate and faithful, and His mercies toward you are new this very day. Keep hoping in Him, and encourage your own soul to trust Him again.
