My life is a rollercoaster. There’s a lot of sitting down and screaming.
Someone tweeted that last week. Quite profound, huh?!
Have you ever felt that way? Ever felt overwhelmed by life? Have either the circumstances around you or the conflicts within you ever made you feel hopeless?
What if I were to tell you that it’s when you are at your most helpless that you are in the best position to be helped?
What if I were to tell you that it’s when you are at your most powerless that you are in the best position to experience God’s Power?
The Scriptures tell us:
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… – those living against God, those far away from God. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6,8
That word “sinners” has been used and abused. You may have heard that word with a finger pointing at you as a kid. That word may be the very reason you struggle with believing in God or even connecting with a church.
Perhaps for a long time, you have had an aversion to organized religion.
Let me encourage you: you are in the right place. We have never been accused of being organized or religious!
The word “sinner” which has been used against us – used to put us down or keep us in guilt and shame is actually a beautiful word.
Jesus came for the sinners – the ones that have missed the mark, the ones who have made mistakes, the ones with regret.
If you are here and you are worried that I am excluding you. Don’t worry: you’re with us too.
There is so much hope when we acknowledge, we need help.
You cannot find healing unless you know you need to be healed!
But we forget that! We try to act like we have it all together, but that is exhausting and everyone knows we don’t!
So what do we do when we feel stuck? When we feel broken? When we feel hopeless?
Here is an amazing Truth:
The sun is shining even on a cloudy day.
The clouds may block the sun, but that does not mean the sun is not shining!
God’s love is like the sun – providing light and warmth and life – no matter how cloudy or foggy things may be right now.
Just because you cannot see it or feel it, does not mean it is not there. It means we have the opportunity to step in the realm of faith – a realm beyond what we see or feel.
You see, we all face disappointment. Who we become depends on how we respond.
Are you giving up because of the challenges you have faced?
Choose hope even when you don’t feel like it.
Hope is not an abstract idea. Hope is a person, and His name is Jesus!
Jesus’ death on a cross and resurrection from the dead is not just the Easter story. It is the Story!
When God walked among us. He taught with authority. He healed those needing healing. He forgave those needing forgiveness. Ultimately, He died on the cross And rose from the dead. In doing so, Jesus defeated sin and death.
Jesus showed God’s power over everything that is broken in this world!
What are you looking at for hope? If you are feeling hopeless, it may be the result of where your hope lies not in the one who Created us and loves us!
No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.
You may not be putting your hope in an army or a warrior’s strength or a horse, but you may be putting your hope in a job or in your bank account or in a relationship. Nothing in this world can meet the eternal void we feel within, but the One who is Eternal can fill our deepest longings.
Hear this…
But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love… – Psalm 33:16-18
There is one Hope bigger than anything we face, one Hope when we are hopeless and His name is Jesus.
You can trust God even when you don’t feel like it.
Paul was a devoted follower of Jesus. He started churches all across the Roman Empire just after Jesus ascended into heaven. He wrote letters to these churches – 13 of these letters make up our New Testament. In the midst of the amazing experiences he had, he also faced oppression, persecution, imprisonment, and betrayal.
Even still, notice his eternal perspective in the midst of terrible circumstances.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. – 2 Timothy 4:18
I like the first part! God, rescue me from all evil! Protect from all bad circumstances! Yet that’s not what Paul was saying. He was saying: no matter how bad things get on this side of eternity, no one can separate me from my Hope – from the One whose love will never fail, the One whose love lasts beyond this life!
You can Hope when things seem Hopeless. God can do the impossible;
One of the greatest spiritual mysteries Jesus reveals is this:
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” – Colossians 1:27
When we say yes and follow Jesus the Same power that rose Jesus from the dead lives in you!
You are stronger than you feel you are!
You are more resilient than you think you are!
For Christ, the one Who Overcame sin and death lives in you!! He is our Hope!
When we lose someone we love, we can entrust them to the One whose love for us led Him to give up His life for us on the Cross!
When we have suffered abuse or oppression, we can rely on the One who was falsely accused, mocked, beaten, and on whose brow was shoved a crown of thorns!
When we find ourselves stuck in addiction or mired in regret, we can look to the One who faced temptation and never gave in!
When we find ourselves overwhelmed and overcome, we can look to the One who Overcame death and rose from the dead!
He has overcome and He is in us!
