HAVING NO HOPE?

HAVING NO HOPE? JOB had just LOST EVERY PERSON on earth DEAR to him, aside from his wife. He was AFFLICTED with BOILS all over his ENTIRE BODY. Every personal belonging he owned was GONE. As he sat in the ashes, SCRAPING himself, he declares: “WHERE then is my HOPE? Who can see ANY HOPE for me?”( Job 17:15) Have you ever been at a point where your THOUGHTS line up with Job’s questions in this verse? I think we ALL have : • That payment is overdue. • The baby isn’t feeling any better. • The car needs another repair. • And that’s just the beginning… The word “HOPE,” in certain Biblical context, DOESN'T translate to English as a “FEELING”, like we would think? The true translation is “EXPECTATION.” The Bible is very clear about the answer on WHAT to DO when you see NO HOPE: “ But if we hope for what we do not see, we EAGERLY WAIT for it with PERSEVERANCE”. (Romans 8:25) When we CAN’T see any hope in a situation, WHAT do we DO? 1. FIRST - WAIT I know. It’s not the glamorous, sweeping, wonderful answer you were anticipating, but it’s well worth repeating! I WAIT for the LORD, my SOUL WAITS, And in His WORD I do HOPE. (Psalm 130:5) Psalm 130 is a song that the pilgrims would sing as they ascended to the city of Jerusalem. As the travelers grew TIRED, they would SING to help pass the time and to ENCOURAGE one another. What a great reminder for the sojourners to provide to each other! When you CAN’T SEE ANY HOPE, not only do you WAIT, but this verse further explains a step while you are WAITING for your ANSWER to the situation. 2. SHIFT FOCUS HOPE, or EXPECTATION, needs to SHIFT from the surrounding HOPELESS CIRCUMSTANCES to GOD’S WORD. When your HOPE and EXPECTATION comes from GOD’S WORD, then HOPE is SECURE. For in YOU, O LORD, I HOPE; You WILL HEAR, O Lord my God. (Psalm 38:15 NKJV) There aren’t always pat answers for the complications of this world, but the BIBLE is clear that OUR HOPE comes from the LORD!