Have you ever lost hope?
Hope in a relationship?
Hope in yourself?
Hope in your circumstances?
Maybe you’ve lost hope in God. Let me tell you something. God has never lost hope in you.
Romans 5:5 says “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.”
Depression is one of those taboo words. If someone asks you how you’re doing you may feel “depressed” but of course, you never say that because they’ll look at you like you have 3 eyes. It’s also one of those topics your youth pastor may not have addressed because it can be a sensitive topic.
One of the biggest lies anybody can tell you is that depression is a medical issue. I’ve actually heard people say that depression is just something you “cope with” and eventually it’ll go away.
I’m here to tell you and Jesus is evidence that you don’t have to cope with it or simply “grin and bear it” as some like to say. Like I said, some people will say depression is a medical issue, but in reality, it is simply the absence of hope.
You lose hope in something, whatever that is and then you give up trying to find hope. From there you sink into this valley of hopelessness and sulk until you either find hope or dare I say you lose the greatest hope of all, the hope that life is worth living.
I hope that this isn’t the case, but if somehow you think that taking your life is the answer or even the only way out, I promise, it’s not.
Romans 15:13 says “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope”
I know all of my verses have been from Romans, but…
Romans 12:12 says “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer”
I think every Christian on earth has thought this or struggled with this at some point or maybe it’s just me, but some of us lose hope in God because our situations seem bleak, too difficult to overcome, and we look for a way out.
We lose hope in our situation because we have lost hope in the source of hope.
Let that sink in for a second. If you think about it, Jesus is the source of hope, So if we lose or have lost hope in Jesus then our hope in everything else is gone too.
Some Christians lose hope in Jesus and we try to get hope, somehow. We even turn to the world for hope, when in reality, they are just as hopeless if not more hopeless as they don’t have the knowledge and love of Jesus in their lives.
I hate math, and you might too but I have an incredibly simple but powerful math equation for you.
JESUS = HOPE
It sounds cliche, but without Jesus, you simply cannot have eternal lasting hope. Jesus is the whole reason we can have hope. Think about it. If Jesus hadn’t come to earth to die for us, we would automatically be bound for eternity in hell. That is hopelessness.
But instead, Jesus came to the earth, humbled himself to humanity, and died for the same people that spit on him cursed him, mocked him, and called him a fraud, Yet he still did it. He still died, because he wanted us to have hope.
So if you have given up hope in Jesus, the man who DIED for you, what else is going to satisfy you?
Psalms 39:7 says “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you”
Psalms 33:18 says “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in his steadfast love”
Jeremiah 29:11 says “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”
If you have lost hope maybe your relationship with Christ isn’t where it should be, or maybe you have given up hope in Jesus.
Jesus hasn’t given up hope in you, He’s cheering you on and He loves when you come to him broken and ready to be used.
Chase Christ, follow Him fervently, if you’re clinging to Christ then He’ll give you all the hope you’ll ever need. I can’t promise that living for Christ is rainbows and butterflies because it’s not. There are hard times in life.
There are times when it may feel like the world pulling you, but as long as you cling to Christ there is hope.
Hope for your future.
Hope for your relationships.
Hope for your difficult situations.
Some people like to use the illustration that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“Fight through this darkness and you’ll be okay.”
Some people even say Jesus is waiting for you on the other side. The truth is that Jesus is right there with you, in the darkness, if it’s still dark, maybe you’re eyes are closed spiritually and you’re not looking for Jesus. He’s right there with you, guiding you, leading you, giving you hope.
Look towards him and you’ll never lose hope.
When Jesus came to his disciples on the sea of Galilee while walking on water, Peter called out to Jesus believing it was him, and Jesus called Peter to step out of the boat and walk on water. Peter walked on water…when his eyes were focused on Jesus.
As soon as he took his eyes off of Jesus he lost hope and began to sink.
What are you focused on?
JESUS = HOPE
– T