#Hope

I don’t know about you, but lately I’ve been seeing a lot of hopeless posts on social media. So much of it is filled with pessimism and sadness. I get why! You turn on the news and all you hear about are Covid cases, wars, global warming…there’s a lot to feel hopeless about. In times of feeling hopeless, we want control of the situation. The problem with this is we will never get that control so instead we can tend to numb ourselves. There is a solution though! At times it could take some self-motivation on your part but it’s worth it. The solution is actively working towards building a relationship with the one that has all the control: God. And what better way to build that relationship then by reading God’s word. One of my best friends and I are reading through the Bible chronologically together. Already I’ve learned so much about the character of God and one of the verses I read recently seems to speak on the topic of hopelessness. It comes from the book of Job and if you know anything about the Bible, you know Job had a lot to feel hopeless about.

Job 28:28 (NLT): “The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is real understanding.”

Job can’t understand why he’s been cursed with so much. All his children have been killed, he’s lost all his wealth, his friends are disgusted by him, and daily he’s dealing with health issues. He feels hopeless and wants answers. Instead of canceling God, Job comes to Him WITH his questions. In his sadness, Job finds hope when he declares Job 28:28. He knows there are things he can’t understand but he finds hope in trusting God with His wisdom and understanding of the circumstances. Here’s the thing about Job. Before all these bad things happened, Job was in close communication with God. He knew God’s character and trusted Him. This helped him when the bad started. You would never choose to put your hope in someone you know nothing about. You trust someone you know full well. Thankfully we can have that same trusting relationship Job had with God. All it takes is us making the time to work towards knowing God better.

When we know more of the character of God, we find there’s a lot to be hopeful about.

According to the world there is nothing to be hopeful about. No wonder so many battle with mental health issues and substance abuse issues. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to live in that world. I only have one life to live and I don’t want to spend it sad. If you’ve found yourself down and out lately, make the time to sit with God in your questions like Job. When we come to God for hope, we find the wisdom and understanding He has settles all our doubts. That is hope.