FROM HOPELESSNESS TO HOPE
Selected Scriptures

While visiting a psychiatric institution, a college student met a man he would never forget. Workers at the institution called him “No Hope Carter.” He had contracted a disease that would attack his brain and ultimately take his life. During the early stages of his disease, he asked his doctors to be aggressive. He was willing to try any treatment, but the doctors gave him no hope. As the disease took control, his brain deteriorated and he became more despondent. In the last two weeks of his life, he was seen pacing the halls of the institution. In a blank stare, he was heard muttering two words again and again — No hope! No hope! No hope!¹

I fear that Mr. Carter said out loud what many think in private. Leaving a doctor’s office, he was told that the chances of survival were 30%. With a sunken stare, he thinks, “No hope!” A single mom struggles to pay her bills, and now she has been told her car needs repairs and her daughter needs braces. Lying in bed, a tear hits her pillow as she thinks, “No hope.” A student longs for a college education. The only way to get a scholarship is with a high score on the SAT. Disappointed in his score, he lets the envelope drop to the floor as he whispers, “No hope.”

Most of us have muttered those dismal words thinking, “No one knows what I am going through.” Well, others have known this feeling before. In fact, the Apostle Paul describes a voyage at sea when those on board his ship experienced the feelings of no hope. He had no hope in the present.

No Hope in the Present

As a prisoner, Paul was sailing to Rome to appear before Caesar. Somewhere between Crete and Syrtis, hurricane-strength winds assaulted the ship. Their only hope was to let the storm take control, driving then violently off-course. Battered for three days by the storm, the crew threw the ship’s cargo and tackle overboard to survive. After days of being mauled by the storm, Paul describes the feeling of all on board in Acts 27:20.

²⁰ When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.

Because the conditions had not changed for several days, all on board had given up hope.

Violent conditions in life can challenge our sense of security. And if the conditions do not change, we lose our hope in the present. If your security is placed in your health, your world can be rocked by a doctor’s visit. If your confidence is tied to your position at work, your knees will be bucked by a pink slip. If the source of your strength is the morals of your family, you can be weakened by one wrong decision within your home. If you are a planner and have planned your life out for the next five to ten years, everything can crumble with an unexpected change of plans.

When these conditions remain unchanged, we can lose hope in the present. Yet just when you think there is no feeling worse than feeling hopeless about the present, it gets worse. You learn that, either due to your stubbornness or the stubbornness of others, you’ve lost hope in the future as well. This was Jeremiah’s experience.

No Hope for the Future

Jeremiah was virtually alone in calling for God’s people to repent. In Jeremiah 18:1-10, Jeremiah tells the people that they are like clay in the potter’s hands with God. God will work with them, shape them and protect them, if they will but let Him. However, the people have been stubborn and unworkable with God. Therefore, listen to the conversation between God and Jeremiah in verses 11-12:

¹¹ “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the LORD says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ ¹² But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; each of us will follow the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”

The King JamesVersion translates verse 12 to read, “And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.” Jeremiah thought the people would tell God there is no hope that we will change.

This kind of hopelessness can be the most devastating. On the one hand you have people who are saying, “I will never change. I will always be this way and will always feel this way.” Thus, they have no hope of a better future. This is a desperate feeling for someone who has lost a loved one, a sinking feeling for one who has lost their job, retirement or relationships and believes their circumstances and emotions will never be lifted again.

On the other hand, some could be saying that our circumstances will never change because the hearts of those attacking us will never change. We will always be under attack; we will never feel safe again within our own borders. And again, these have lost their hope for a better future.

The Search for Hope

None of us can live life without hope. Therefore, when we have lost our hope for the present or lost our hope for the future, we begin a desperate search. Sadly, some are searching for hope in ways that will never be successful.

Years ago, Chief Quartermaster William W. Doller was stationed at the U.S. Pacific Fleet Headquarters off the Galapagos Islands. For years, this Navy man had been throwing bottles into the ocean. A note had been placed inside each bottle, promising five dollars to anyone who would contact him. On January 15, 1960, Doller was contacted by someone in Saipan. Doller later deduced that of all the bottles he had thrown in the ocean, it had taken this bottle and message over nineteen months to travel 4,650 miles before anyone ever responded.

Like throwing bottles in the ocean with a cry for help and hope, people keep throwing, but no one is responding. It is because hope is not found in a bottle, but found in the person of Jesus Christ. You won’t have to wait nineteen months for your message to travel 4,650 miles. God promises in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” God encourages all without hope to call to Him, for He will tell you of the hope you cannot find. He will tell you that you can find your hope in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Hope in Christ

In Ephesians 2:11-12, God describes our hopeless feeling of living life apart from Him:

¹¹Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men) — ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

In the Old Testament, God established an exclusive relationship with the Jews. Gentiles represented anyone who was not a Jew. If you were not a Jew, you had no relationship with God. You lived a life where God was not in your life and thus, not in your world. Therefore, you lived a life without hope. Yet, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ changed this.

Jesus’ sacrifice paid the price for all our sins, so that anyone who asked could be forgiven. Everyone who asks for forgiveness and surrenders his or her life to God through Jesus Christ experiences forgiveness, fulfillment and hope. Here is how.

Christ Provides Peace
Describing the experience of Christ living within you, Ephesians 2:13-14 says that you experience peace.

¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.

You no longer live life alone, separated from God. You actually enjoy life through an unbreakable partnership with God. In Psalm 23, King David described the partnership as God being his Shepherd and David being one of God’s sheep. In times of hopelessness, this is a peaceful promise to remember.

Decades ago, the entertainment for parties would be having someone sing or recite something. At one such party, they asked a famous actor to give a recitation. When he asked what they wanted him to recite, someone said, “The 23^rd Psalm.” Seeing the old and respected minister in the group, and wanting to show respect, the actor said, “I’ll recite it first, if the minister will do so after me.” The minister agreed and the actor recited the psalm. His pitch, tone and inflection were perfect. When he finished, everyone enthusiastically applauded. As everyone quieted, the old minister took his turn at reciting the psalm. He didn’t have the years of voice training as had the actor. However, when he finished, the people were moved and were weeping. A man standing beside the actor asked, “What was the difference in the two?” Smiling, the actor said, “I knew the psalm, but he knew the Shepherd.”

When you have Christ in your life, you have peace. You have peace because, with Christ in you, you now have hope in your world. You no longer just know the psalm, you know the Shepherd and He knows you.

Christ Won’t Change the Circumstance but Will Change You
Yet, having Christ in you doesn’t change the circumstances that threaten your hope. Christ changes you so that you can endure the circumstances with hope. This is His promise in Ephesians 2:14-15:

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace.

When you establish a relationship with Jesus Christ, He doesn’t take away the challenges in life. He makes you new so you can get through the challenges in life. He makes you new through your partnership with Him.

The old farmer had one good workhorse that had served him well for years. But as the wear and tear of life began to show on the horse, he could not handle the load like he once did. Instead of looking for a new horse to break in and, eventually, break down, he decided to buy another horse to harness and work side by side with the old one. The old horse gave him more work in the same old field than he had ever done — all because he was now teamed instead of working alone.

God doesn’t change the circumstances that drain your hope. He doesn’t remove you from the field. God simply teams you with Him. The circumstances have not changed, you have. Now, you are stronger and can go on longer teamed with God and with hope.

Christ Secures You in an Uncertain Future
There is one more benefit worth mentioning when talking about the hope you receive in Christ. You not only receive peace for the present and strength for the circumstances, but you also experience security for an uncertain future. This is explained in Ephesians 2:19-21:

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.

By placing your hope in Christ, you are no longer like one of Doller’s bottles thrown out into the ocean. Your present and future are secure in Jesus Christ. Though governments may fail, God will not. In Christ you are a citizen of heaven. Though relationships may break, your relationship with God will not. You are now a member of His household, and His household has stood for centuries. Though the future for others may be uncertain, your future with Christ is sure. He promises to never leave you nor forsake you. He promises a future with Him forever. He is your anchor of hope.

Hebrews 6:19-20 describes Jesus as our anchor of hope. This biblical word picture was as strong as the truth it represented. In biblical times, some docks were unapproachable at low tide because of sand bars. If a ship came in at low tide, they would lower the anchor onto a smaller boat, row to the dock and drop the anchor there. When the tides changed, the ship would move to the dock where its anchor had already been dropped. Though the ship was still at sea, all on board knew they were going to eventually dock.

There are times when the circumstances in life make you feel adrift at sea, out of control, directionless and without hope. Yet if you have secured a relationship with Christ, it does not matter the condition of the seas around you — Jesus, your anchor, is set. He is unchanging and immovable. Your hope is secure in Him.

The Benefits of Adversity

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale once asked J. C. Penney, “In one sentence of as few words as possible, tell me the secret of your outstanding success in life.” Without hesitation, Penney replied, “Here is the answer in four words: Adversity and Jesus Christ.” Penney then explained that his father had been a poor preacher in the hills of Missouri. When he died, he bequeathed his children the following statement. His will read, “I bequeath you some honest debts, manly character, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”²

Penney’s dad had left him an inheritance that carried him throughout life. Penney learned that adversity can take away your money. Adversity can take away your loved ones; adversity can take away your health, but adversity can never take away your hope if you have hope in Jesus Christ.