Hope
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
OUR LIVING HOPE
It is in living in the hope that we have in our Savior, that we see the darkness of depression begin to lift from our lives. Through the grace of God at work in our souls, the light begins to turn on deep within us. The power of the Spirit within causes an abundant overflow of hope in
our lives. We respond with thanksgiving and worship. This leads us to a life of worship. We must lift up our hearts and voices to God in praise. We are convinced, because of who God is and what He has done, that He is worthy of all praise. From the beginning of the day until the day’s end He is worthy of being exalted. (Psalm 113:3). Therefore, we choose to worship Him no matter what our emotions may be saying.
Negativity and dark thoughts cannot remain in our minds as our hearts are filled with worship. Satan hates our sacrifices of praise unto God. We resist him through thanksgiving and he must flee (James 4:7). We do battle through the praises of God that are in our mouths. It is one clear, powerful way of resisting him and his lies. It is our expression of hope that we have in God’s eternal plan of salvation. We praise Him because he is our Deliverer. We have the hope that we will never die. “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). This is eternal hope that comes to us through the gospel. This earthly life will soon be over, but we will only “sleep.” We will pass from one life to another. We have a Savior who is waiting for us on the other side. An eternity of God’s endless blessing awaits us (Ephesians 2:7). This hope can drive out deep despair and keep us in times of discouragement. We are only sojourners who are passing through. We must remember that there is a great light at the end of the tunnel of life. Jesus awaits us.
GOD IS OUR HELP
It is for us to take the time to read the many Psalms that so beautifully describe the praise and worship of the True and Living God (Let me list a few: Psalm 9:2; 9:14; 18:49; 21:13; 30:4; 33:1; 42:5; 43:4; 47:6; 100; 150). It is good for us to read them out loud and lift up our voices in praise. We can then move on to creating our own arrangement of scriptural words of worship as we express our love and adoration of the Most High God. Because of the hope that we have, we can picture ourselves as joining in with the heavenly host of angels. We can see ourselves with them, those who live with the purpose of extolling the name of God our Eternal Hope and Deliverer (Revelation 5:9-14). Because of our hope, we lift our voice in thanksgiving and praise.
In hope, we humble ourselves. We seek to live in humble repentance. This is an attitude of dependence on God. We must give every moment over to God in humble submission. We confess that without Jesus, and His endless supply of grace, we cannot accomplish anything of eternal value (John 15:5). Darkness leaves our souls as we learn a deeper dependence on God. Through the hope that we have, we call out to God. We are to literally open our mouths and call out to Him. It is an act of expressing the end of ourselves and our complete need for Him. We call out to God in the darkness of our desperation, knowing that He is there and that He alone is our victory. He will not fail us.
CALL UPON THE LORD
We call out because we have nowhere else to turn. All human help is not enough. We need help from heaven and we know that God has promised to hear from heaven and pour out His love upon us. Therefore, we cry out to the Almighty, who is an ever-present help in the time of need. “When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles” (Psalm 34:17).
Your decision is between calling out to the Lord or not. This is the choice that has confronted those in misery throughout history. Listen to the prophet Hosea, who wrote these words on behalf of the Lord: “They cry not out to me from their hearts but wail upon their beds” (Hosea 7:14). You can sit in silence or cry out to the Lord. You can cry out on your bed or cry to the Lord. These are the two choices (Welch: Depression a Stubborn Darkness, 2004, Pg. 56)
We call out to God because He gives us hope. The situations of life may not change. Things we are experiencing may not get better. But in the midst of the trials and failures of living in this fallen world, we who follow Christ have an anchor for our souls. We know in whom we have believed and know that He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until the day of His return (2 Timothy 1:12). We have hope because we are completely forgiven and our sins are buried in the deepest sea never to be remembered again (Psalm 103:12). We do not despair because we are forgiven.
MOVING FORWARD
Many of us have really messed up. Through multiplied wrong decisions, often over a long period of time, many of us have fallen into a pit of despair. But hope tells us that Christ has come to pull us out of the pit and set our feet on solid ground. Because of Christ’s finished work, the past is gone and we are a new creation in Him. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This verse is our hope and our continuous confession. We must confess it throughout the day.