As a pastor, one of the things I’m called upon to do is to comfort those who are going through difficult circumstances. At times of suffering or crisis, people typically look to the minister for support and encouragement. And so, when tragedy strikes, or the storms of life become overwhelming, or someone has simply come to the end of their rope, whether it’s two in the afternoon or two in the morning, I’m often the one who gets the call. When that happens, I have to have something to offer the person on the other end of the line. Something more substantial than just vague reassurances that everything is going to work out. Because, as you know if you live in the real world, sometimes things don’t work out. The husband doesn’t return. The job offer never comes. The baby miscarries. The son or daughter keeps doing drugs. The biopsy comes back positive.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I consider it an honor and a privilege to be invited into people’s lives at times like these. If anything, people are often too reluctant too ask for help. And I’m very aware that most of the time, it isn’t because of my great wisdom, or insight, or holiness that I’ve gotten the call. It’s just because I’m the pastor, and they need a word from the Lord. They want reassurance that God still loves them, that what has happened in their life isn’t some huge cosmic mistake. They want to hear, in a way they can understand and accept, that what they’re going through makes sense somehow, that it’s not just random suffering, but that it’s part of God’s good, and wise, and perfect plan for them. They want to believe, and they want to trust, but they need a little help. They need someone to give them a hand up, someone to listen, someone to be with them while they gather the strength they need to go on. Most of all, what they want and need is hope.
I share this with you, not so you can feel sorry for me. On the contrary, there is nothing I would rather be doing, literally nothing I can imagine doing, other than the work of the ministry. In spite of the occasional heartache and disappointment, it’s deeply satisfying to be a part of what God is doing in people’s lives. No, the reason I share all this is because I’m not the only one who is faced with these kinds of situations. Over time, every single person in this room will be in that same place. Someday, you will be standing at the bedside of a co-worker dying of cancer. Or late some evening, you’ll pick up the phone to hear your sister-in-law telling you that their baby has been diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. Or you’ll be attending the funeral of one of your parents, and your brothers and sisters will all be looking to you to say something to help them process their grief, because you’re the only one there who has any religious faith. Or you’ll be sitting in a home Bible study, and someone in the group will reveal that they’ve just been laid off. When that happens, you need to be able to offer encouragement, and comfort, and hope. And of course, not only will we all be called upon to give comfort, but we will also need it ourselves. And so this is not a question of interest only to members of the clergy. It affects all of us. Where do we find hope, for ourselves and for those we’re seeking to help? Where do we find hope, when our circumstances seem hopeless? What assurances can we legitimately give to people who are suffering? What hope can we really hold on to?
The good news is that Christ does offer the hope we need. The bad news is that many people never experience it, even many Christians, because they don’t understand it. They’re looking for hope in the wrong places, they’re seeking it in the wrong things. My goal for you this morning, whatever your present circumstances may be, is that by God’s grace you will enter into a strong, and true, and lasting hope; a hope that will never disappoint you, not now nor through eternity.
Let’s begin by looking at where hope comes from. The common misconception is that it comes from our circumstances. If things are looking up, if the future is bright, then we can have hope. And we know that people think this, because that’s how they comfort someone who is suffering. They comfort them by telling them that their circumstances are going to change. "Don’t worry, honey, he’ll come back." Or, "Listen, all kids go through a rebellious stage. Once she gets it out of her system, she’ll straighten out." Or, "Don’t worry. This is just a temporary downturn in the economy. I’m sure that in a few months, everyone will be hiring again." Or, "I’ve been reading a lot lately about new treatments for Alzheimer’s. I’m sure the doctors will come up with something soon."
And that’s a problem. Because the fact is that sometimes things don’t work out (at least, not the way we want them to). Our circumstances may not improve, in fact, they may get worse. And if our hope is based on the expectation that things are going to get better, then what happens if they don’t? What happens is that hope disappears. It just collapses, and in its place we have depression, and bitterness, and anger.
Or perhaps you understand that hope doesn’t come from circumstances. You realize that if that were the case, our hope would always be at the mercy of people and events and forces outside our control. Instead, you may view hope as coming from within the person. In that view, the key to maintaining hope is to keep a positive attitude, to remain optimistic. Chin up, think good thoughts; look on the sunny side of life; focus on the silver lining, instead of the cloud. And there’s certainly a lot to be said for that view. The problem is that this kind of pluckiness and self-reliance will only get you so far. It might get you through a case of the flu; it might keep your spirits up you while you’re out of work. But it doesn’t have the power to sustain you through months or years of struggle. It can’t bear the weight of really severe suffering. And sooner or later, it will also collapse. The other problem with this approach is that in order to maintain that hopeful attitude, you may be tempted to ignore reality. Sometimes there’s a fine line between being optimistic and just being in denial.
Ready for the truth? Here’s what the Bible says about the source of our hope. It doesn’t come from circumstances, and it doesn’t come from within us. It comes from God.
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." -- Psalm 62:5
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." -- Romans 15:13
What this means is that we can’t manufacture hope. We cannot will it into existence. We can only receive it from God as a gift. So when you feel your hope faltering, the first thing you need to do is get your focus onto God. Stop trying to feel hopeful, stop looking around for things to feel hopeful about. Stop thinking about yourself and your attitude, get your focus off whatever is happening in your life, and get your focus onto God. That’s the starting point. Look to God in faith. Seek God in prayer and ask Him to restore your hope. And that’s a prayer that God loves to answer. Because there is nothing He wants more than to see his children living in hope and joy. Remember that. No matter what suffering God may allow into your life for His good and wise purposes, it is never His will for you to lose your hope. So begin by looking to Him.
The second thing we need to understand is the proper object of our hope. The object of our hope, if it’s to be true and lasting, must be God Himself. Our greatest desire must be to know Him.
"No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame. . . Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. . . May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you." -- Psalm 25:3, 5, 21
"The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."
-- Psalm 147:11
"Through [Christ] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God." -- 1 Peter 1:21
Now, I think many people’s response would be to say, "Yes, I’m doing that. I’m putting my hope in God. I’m trusting him to [provide me with a wife / heal my daughter / give me a job / turn around my son’s life]." But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about hoping in God to do something, or to give you something. Because then your hope is not really in God Himself. Then God is not the object of your hope, God is not what you’re seeking after; instead, He’s just the means to an end. Hoping in God means seeking Him for His own sake, and not because of what you want Him to do for you in this life. Do you see the difference? To hope in God is to seek Him first, rather than His blessings.
Why is this distinction important? It may seem rather subtle, but it makes all the difference in the world. If your hope is in something you want God to give you, then you will always be disappointed and frustrated. Why? Because either you won’t get it, or you will get it, and you’ll find that it doesn’t satisfy the way you thought it would. On the other hand, if your hope is in God Himself, then you will never be disappointed. Because knowing God never gets old. It never ceases to satisfy, because it’s what we were made for. We weren’t made just for this world. We were made for Him. Listen to what C.S. Lewis writes in "Mere Christianity":
"Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy. "I am not speaking of what would ordinarily be called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something we grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in reality. I think everyone knows what I mean. The wife may be a good wife, and the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry may be a very interesting job but something has evaded us."
If our hopes for the future begins and end with the things of this world and the things of this life, then we will never be satisfied. Because the hope of the Christian faith is not the same as the American dream. It’s not the good life. The promise of the gospel is not good health, or a happy marriage, or financial success. The hope and promise of the Christian faith is to know God, now and forever. Our hope must be in God Himself. And when that truth takes root in our hearts, then instead of our relationship with God being a way of getting what we want in this world, the exact opposite becomes true. Everything in this world -- things, relationships, activities, experiences -- everything, good or bad, becomes a means of helping us to know God. God becomes the end, rather than the means. And the things of this world becomes the means, rather than the end. It’s a complete change of orientation. Let me put it another way: The idea is not to use God to make our life better. The idea is to use our life to know God better. That’s the goal, and that’s our hope.
So if the source of our hope is God, and the object of our hope is God, then the content of our hope will be the promises of God. Not what we want, but what He wants to give us, what He has promised to give us. As Hebrews 11:1 tells us, "faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." If we are to be absolutely sure of what we hope for, and certain that it will come to pass, then our hope must be based on something which is absolutely reliable, which is the Word of God. What does God promise in His Word to those who belong to Him?
1. "But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:5
2. "He saved us . . . so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." -- Titus 1:5, 7
3. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" -- Titus 2:10-13
4. "I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." -- Acts 24:15
5. "But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope." -- Galatians 5:5
6. "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." -- Ephesians 1:18
That’s where our focus ought to be. That’s the hope of the Christian. Things which have to do with salvation, and eternal life, and the return of Christ, and the great and wonderful things God has prepared for us in the world to come. Does that mean we shouldn’t care about the things of this world? Does it mean we shouldn’t have any hopes at all for our lives in this world, or for our children? No, I’m not saying that. But it’s a matter of degree, a matter of emphasis. Our longing to know God, and to experience the things of God, should be so great; our hope ought to be fixed on Him to such an extent, that His promises matter more to us than whether our earthly wishes and desires are fulfilled. It’s not that we care so little about our present circumstances, but that we care so much more about what is to come. Fundamentally, our hopes are fixed on the next world, and whatever may happen to us here and now, we take comfort in knowing that it doesn’t affect what God has prepared for us there.
Can we bring these two worlds together? Yes, and that’s where the character of God comes in. We trust in His wisdom, and his love, and his power. We know that He can do all things; we know that not even situations which seem hopeless are beyond his ability to change. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 3:20, God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." And so we can fully trust our circumstances to Him, knowing that He can turn and change them any way He pleases. But what if He chooses not to act? What if He allows the situation to stay the same, or even get worse? Then we rest in the knowledge that he is sovereign, that he is in control over all things. And so whether or not our hopes in this life are fulfilled, we can trust that everything that happens in our lives is a part of His good and perfect and loving plan for us.
In closing, I’d like to make three short points concerning hope. First, God not only gives hope. Sometimes he takes it away. As Job said, "He tears me down on every side till I am gone; he uproots my hope like a tree." (Job 19:10). If our hopes are fixed too strongly on something temporary, he may take it away to direct our hope toward that which is eternal. This is not punishment, but loving discipline. God wants to bless us with the knowledge of Himself, but in order to do that He may first need to loosen the hold which temporal hopes have on our hearts. And so if God seems to be removing from your life the things you had placed your hopes on, perhaps it’s time to re-examine whether you have placed your hope in Him and Him alone.
Second, sometimes God allows us to wait in order to test and strengthen our hope. The fact that we don’t immediately receive what we hope for doesn’t necessarily mean that God has denied it. He may simply be testing us. Often, the passage of time helps reveal what is in our hearts. Unbelief is impatient and gives up, but faith waits and perseveres.
" But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me." -- Micah 7:7
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." -- Romans 8:24-25
And third, the more we follow after Christ and walk in obedience to his commands, the stronger our hope will become. There is a very clear link between obedience and holiness, on the one hand, and a strong hope on the other. If you want to strengthen your hope, then obey Jesus Christ wholeheartedly.
"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your
hope sure." -- Hebrews 6:11
" Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure." -- 1 John 3:3
Finally, I’d like to end with a promise from God: "Those who hope in me will not be disappointed." -- Isaiah 49:23
Put your hope in God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ. And you will not be disappointed. Amen.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
