FROM
DESPAIR TO HOPE
BREAD
19 I
remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. 20 I well remember them, and my
soul is downcast within me. 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your
faithfulness. 24 I say
to myself, "The Lord is my
portion; therefore I will wait for him." 25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who
seeks him; 26 it is
good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:19-26 (NIV)]
1 Then
Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all
things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel
without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too
wonderful for me to know. 4 You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will
question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen
you. 6 Therefore
I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job 42:1-6 (NIV)
1 As the
deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for
the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day
and night, while men say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I
pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading the procession
to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive
throng. 5 Why
are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I
will remember you. Psalms 42:1-6 (NIV)
27 Why do
you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
28 Do you
not know? Have you not heard? The Lord
is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow
tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men
stumble and fall; 31 but
those who hope in the Lord will
renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and
not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:27-31 (NIV)
8 We do
not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the
province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to
endure, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt
the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves
but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he
will deliver us. On him we have set our hope.
2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (NIV)
2 Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful
men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)
28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my
yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew
11:28-30 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Canst thou answer this, believer? Canst thou find any reason why thou art so
often mourning instead of rejoicing? Why
yield to gloomy anticipations? Who told
thee that the night would never end in day?
Who told thee that the winter of thy discontent would proceed from frost
to frost, from snow and ice, and hail, to deeper snow, and yet more heavy
tempest of despair? Knowest thou not
that day follows night, that flood comes after ebb, that spring and summer
succeed winter? Hope thou then! Hope thou ever! For God fails thee not!” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Other
men see only a hopeless end, but the Christian rejoices in an endless hope.” Gilbert Brenken
“Seeking
with faith, hope, and love pleases our Lord; and finding Him pleases the soul,
filling it full of joy.” Julian of Norwich
“At times you will feel as the Israelites
did before I worked through Moses to part the Red Sea. They gazed with fear
into a sea of hopelessness as their Egyptian enemies headed toward them.
However, as My people discovered, hopelessness is just an illusion created by
the enemy. The truth is, there is no such thing as a futile situation. I am the
God of hope, even when everything you love and live for appears to be drowning.
When you can’t swim any longer, I am your lifesaver. I am the author of your
life who can rewrite and transform any tragedy to triumph. I am the one who
will work all things together for your good even when it appears all has gone
bad. When you don’t know what to do, be still long enough to allow Me to calm
the storm in your heart and part the sea that seems to lie in the way of My
promises for you. If you will wait on Me, you will witness My wonders!” Sheri Rose Shepherd
“The
Lord will make a way for you where no foot has been before. That which, like a sea, threatens to drown
you, shall be a highway for your escape.”
Charles H. Spurgeon
“He is near to the
broken, He is close to the weary of heart.
In His Name is a refuge, Safety for the weak and discarded. There is help for the hopeless, For the
wounded in need. In the presence of
Jesus, There is power unleashed. Call
upon the Name of the Lord, He’s our Defender, our Deliverer. A Shelter in the midst of the storm, Jesus,
our Savior, He is King over all the earth.
I will sing of my Redeemer, Testify to the touch of His hand, Lifted me
from disaster, Set my feet on a solid rock to stand. God is our Refuge, our Strength and
Salvation, A Mighty Fortress is the Lord Almighty. There is no equal, no power beside Him. Forever our Champion is the Lord our
God. Our Savior, He is King over all the
earth.” Lyrics to Defender (Call Upon
The Name Of The Lord)
“‘He
is my refuge and my fortress’ (Psalm 91:2).
A refuge is a place safely out of harm’s way. A fortress is a fortified building that is
virtually impenetrable by conventional means.
Martin Luther wrote a wonderful hymn that says, ‘A mighty fortress is our
God; a bulwark never failing. Our helper
He amidst the flood; of mortal ills prevailing.’ What a statement about the magnificent power
and protection of God! Does God care for
you and me? Can we turn to Him in trust
and faith when troubles and temptations threaten to overwhelm us? Yes – a thousand times yes! What greater proof do we need than that He
sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place?” Billy Graham
“God
delights in His covenant and so we are sure He will not turn back from it. It
is the joy of His holy heart. He delights to do His people good. To pass over
transgression, iniquity, and sin is the recreation of Jehovah. Did you ever
hear God singing? It is extraordinary that the Divine One would solace Himself
with song, yet a prophet has thus revealed the Lord to us: ‘The Lord thy God in
the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy;
he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.’ (Zephaniah
3:17). The covenant is the heart of God written out in the blood of Jesus.” Charles
Spurgeon
HEART SAVOR
·
As I look
to Jesus and His prevailing power my despair gives way to hope. I am to fix my eyes on Him – trusting in Him –
in so doing I will not be disappointed.
·
God
delights in doing His people good. We
can be sure that whatever He allows in the life of the child of the King is for
their good whether we can discern that or not.
That is a promise of Scripture.
·
Despair
in a believer’s life demonstrates misplaced trust. We do not have the power in our flesh rather
we are to trust in the One Who does – leaning not on our own understanding. Acknowledging Him in all ways and He will
make our paths straight.
