A New Hope Series

A couple of years ago (January 2024), the account for Elmo, the red Muppet from Sesame Street, asked on X a simple innocuous question: “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?”

Thousands of people responded, pouring out their hearts to Elmo:

“I’m tired, Elmo,” said one user.

“The world is burning around us, Elmo,” said another.

“Elmo I’m depressed and broke,” one wrote.

Author Hanif Abdurraqib replied, “Each day the abyss we stare into grows a unique horror, one that was previously unfathomable in nature. However, I did have a good grapefruit earlier, thanks for asking.”

After about nine thousand responses in nearly 24 hours, the account posted again. “Wow! Elmo is glad he asked!” (Callie Holtermann, “Elmo Asked an Innocuous Question,” New York Times, 1-30-24; www.PreachingToday.com).

It seems that a lot of people have lost hope these days, perhaps even some of you.

So what do you do when your situation seems hopeless? What do you do when you see no way out of the mess you’re in? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel 36, where the prophet spoke to Israel during their darkest days. Jerusalem was destroyed, hopes were shattered, and the people were living in captivity in Babylon. Their unfaithfulness had led them there—yet God was not done with them, and He is not done with you no matter where you find yourself these days. Take a look.

Ezekiel 36:22-23 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes (ESV).

God promises to intervene, not for Israel’s sake—they didn’t deserve it, no! God promises to intervene for the sake of His own reputation. Israel, through their disobedience and idolatry, had profaned God’s holy name. God had to send them into exile, which caused the surrounding nations to question His faithfulness and power. So God is going to act to restore His reputation among the nations, to restore His honor.

In the same way, our actions have profaned God’s holy name, so God must act to restore His honor today, as well. You see, God’s action is rooted in His character not in our merit. Otherwise, our situation would not only SEEM hopeless. It would BE hopeless, because all of us are sinners, deserving far worse.

Author and pastor Tim Keller once said, “Here's the gospel: you're more sinful than you ever dared believe; you're more loved than you ever dared hope.” For God moves, not because we are worthy, but because He is faithful. So, when your situation seems hopeless…

TRUST GOD TO BRING NEW HONOR TO HIS NAME.

Don’t depend on your own merit. Depen on God’s character and faithfulness. Rely on the Lord to restore His reputation in your life.

God designed us to reflect His image (Genesis 1:26-27), that is, to reflect His character, like a mirror reflects you. However, sin broke the mirror, so that at best people can only see bits and pieces of God in us. Consequently, God came down to “fix the mirror,” so to speak. Jesus died on a cross and rose again to take away the cracks (or the sin) that defaced the mirror.

As a result, the Bible says of those of us who depend on Him, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). As we live our lives in dependence upon Christ, He removes the cracks little by little, so that we can better reflect His glory. This then restores His reputation in a world that all too often questions His character.

What do high-end clothing manufacturers do when they discover a defect in one of their products coming off the production line? Well, they used to send those pieces to a landfill or overseas. But now, they send those pieces to Jeff Denby and Nicole Bassett.

Denby and Bassett are the founders of The Renewal Workshop, a factory that specializes in repairing irregular or defective clothing. Client apparel firms send their defective pieces to the Renewal Workshop where they are restored to like-new condition, then resold on what they call “recommerce” websites affiliated with their original manufacturer brands.

Bassett said, “It is unique for brands to allow someone else to fix their products. We invested a lot into developing repair standards so that brands could feel confident in the quality of the work we do so that they can stand behind their products being sold as renewed” (Jordan Hernandez, “Big fashion companies send ‘ruined’ clothes to Cascade Locks for a chance at a new life,” Oregon Live, 1-5-22; www.PreachingToday.com).