The God of Hope

The Bible tells us there is a time and a season for everything. 

The strongest Christian will face life and death, health and sickness, abundance and lack. Things will not always go well. Job experienced that God sometimes allows seemingly bad things to happen (Job 2:10). There is no sense living in denial. The Bible commands the barren to sing, when there appears to be no reason to do so (Isaiah 54:1), when the natural tendency is to give up. Even “righteous people” go through testing times of great intensity. We feel it is hard to worship when things go south. But worship is not about us; it is about God. It is not geared to sanctifying our traditions and expectations but emphasizing Him. By nature we are all self-centred and proud. We find it hard to express gratitude. We tend to think only of ourselves when things are going well. Christians are not immune from the highs and lows of relationships and personal feelings about circumstances. It is in looking back that we can evaluate the totality of what has gone before and see the hand of God upholding and His Spirit sustaining us. As Jesus reminded us, God is a God of the living, of the “now”.

The average person in the street depends on favourable events and circumstances for their happiness. We as Christians, on the other hand, know that not every day is an emotional high but our lives are underpinned by God who is greater than whatever life dishes up.

God is able to do more than we can ask or think. He says, “If you call on Me I will answer you.” Friends care, but they are limited. There are many things they simply cannot do to help, even if they are available and willing to do so. On the other hand, God will not allow us to be removed. Nothing can take us out of His hand. He has promised us rest. We can trust Him with our all, as a lifestyle choice. We know that He makes everything that happens in our circumstances work for good and He is able to keep us from falling.

Problems are a part of life, but God does not abandon us because we get into messes. He does not destroy His servants. Even when we feel He is squeezing us, to produce change, we can still affirm that we trust Him with our lives. When faced with unusual or trying circumstances, Biblical faith says, This has a purpose (Job 23:10). Too many people directly or indirectly blame God for allowing events to occur. It is easy to be glued to our setbacks, but this is not God’s way. The Bible repeatedly calls Him the God of hope. He is faithful when Christians suffer persecution, when a friend dies at the hands of an assailant, when abuse occurs, when financial problems appear overwhelming, when a sickness is not healed, when a friend is killed in a car accident, when Christians perish in a tsunami? It is assuring to know He has a purpose. Life is not a tiny blip of nothingness in the universe. Life IS God. His purpose is always to build something that will last for eternity.