Hope When You Feel Hopeless - Pt 1

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:1-5 ESV).

I love the way the Bible is so honest. Today our reading gives us a glimpse into the darkness of the writer’s heart. He obviously is very active in worship. Perhaps he even seems to have it all together in his life. However, he cries out in his feelings of loneliness and abandonment. He merely moves through his life concealing the real feelings of discontentment and a joyless life. His expectations were certainly different than the truth of his life. His present reality disappointed his expectations. His only hope of curing his discontentment and unhappiness was in embracing a biblical view of God. It is no different for us. We must learn the art of contentment; and, that can only come from an adequate view of our God and the gift of salvation he has provided for us. There are so many believers who are struggling to cope with their journey. I meet them in all walks of life. There are no ages or gender that are exempt from this malaise of despondency. It is tragic that Christians across the globe wake up discontented with life or some part of it. It may be their singleness, marriage, career, church, health, or community; and all of them wish they could trade it for something better. It has been said that the human heart is impossible to satisfy with temporal conditions or earthly goods. We always want more. With that truth in mind, I want us to deal with how we can change in the next few days. The first step is to understand the great mercy God has extended to us. The Christian’s unhappiness, discontentment, and view of God are directly linked. Discontentment screams, “You deserve better!” and whispers, “God is not giving you what you deserve.” It’s a lie that we deserve better. The lie leads you to believe that you’re wiser than God and interprets his direction for your life as an attack rather than a mercy and gift. We should realize that even when we’re feeling our worst, God is showing us more mercy than we deserve. However, it is also true that he wants to ease our burden. We’ll look more at that truth tomorrow. Today, trust the goodness and mercy of God in every circumstance. Hope in God!