When Hope is Gone

When bad things happen, we feel that breath of hope that was filling our lungs escape our lips. And we feel empty. We are left with questions about life and God and why and how.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16

We have hope because of God's grace- that grace is the reason we hope.

Who is this grace available to?
This grace is available to people who have


1. Made Christ their Savior ("Now may OUR Lord") and


2. those who have placed their future in God's hands and see Him as a loving Father guiding their life ("and God our Father") releasing anxiety, trusting God with the future.

This is something I have always struggled with and that God has given me a lot of victory over in the past few years. I used to be the queen of what-if. I would get so down if things weren't going the way I thought they should go. My mind would swirl with all the negative possibilities. But I now realize that it’s crucial to release the outcomes to God. Let go of tension and stress. This is not only a good thing for us personally, but also important for the Kingdom. People around us are not going to be drawn to Christ if they see us worried, anxious, and hopeless. So if we have Christ as our Savior and allow God to guide us, our hope should be evident to the world-

1 Peter 3:15:
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the HOPE that is in you;

But how often do we NOT stand out as being hopeful?

This past week at the grocery store, I looked at the faces of the people around me and there just isn’t a lot of hope in the world right now. People are so weighed down by their problems. Even in my family, we've had some hope stolen in the past couple weeks as Jarrod's dear Grandmother passed away. A young girl in Logan was recently and tragically killed in a car accident, leaving a town and family in shock. It's at times like this that our hope takes a hit.


Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5

The reason why so many people come in to church week in and week out with defeat in their lives, unable to worship, unable to live out their calling and purpose is because they aren't putting their hope in the grace of God. They aren't leaning into the Holy Spirit's power to get them through rough times. They are hanging their heads in shame and are unable to enter into worship because they feel hopeless- they aren't accepting His grace and they aren't actively receiving His love. The reason that people will turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, or any number of other fixes to numb their hurts, is because an enemy wants them to not only be hopeless, but also to be destroyed.

There is an easier way.

Burdens of life are heavy, but the grace of God lifts our burdens.


Matthew 11:28-30 The Message
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

How many of you could use some life recovery?

How many of you could use a real rest?

Friends, we need to replace our hope in the temporal and find our hope in the grace that God gives us:

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. Psalm 43:5

Are you dragging something around that you need to let go of?
Do you feel guilty?

Do you harbor sorrow for something you couldn't stop from happening, couldn't fix, couldn't make better but you can't let go?

Do you feel loaded down with responsibility for someone else's behavior or addiction or feelings?

Do you have anger you can't let go of?

Do you have hurt feelings, embarrassment, anxiety?

We drag all these things around with us. We let them take up space within us. We've been carrying them so long we don't know what to do without them.


And it all makes our hearts and souls heavy. So heavy.

What would happen if we were to lay down our burdens? What would happen if we gave these things up? What would happen if we just would let God love us?


Take some time to pray about what is stealing your hope and ask that God would replace that with His grace and His abundant love.

On paper, write a burden (or a list of them!) weighing you down. If you are willing to release the burden, get rid of it in some way! Rip it to pieces, burn it, trash it in whatever way you wish. But DO get rid of it.


His grace is enough. Our hope is found in Him alone.


"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." Jeremiah 29:11


Perfect song for this topic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmnGtfpmy-Q Spend some time alone with Him and place your life in His capable hands.