‘I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living’. Psalm 27 vs 13
Have you ever had moments when you have felt like giving up? Have there been times when you have wondered what’s the point of it all? Why try because it never changes? When we begin to struggle with these thoughts we need to ask ourselves where they are coming from or perhaps more accurately who they are coming from. They could be coming from our own hurt and disappointment or it could be the enemy bringing discouragement. One thing we can be certain of is that they are not from the Lord.
The bible clearly tells us that hope is from God. In fact in Romans Paul says; “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13). This is the Lord’s will and desire for us. That hope would bubble up within us to the point that we can’t contain it and it actually becomes contagious and affects the people around us. So how can we walk in this joy, peace and hope? Well this verse explains to us that filling us with hope is the Lord’s work. It is not something that we can do by our own efforts. It’s not about trying to be hopeful. It is recognising that hope comes from the Lord and that when we commune with him a by product will be that we will be filled with hope, peace and joy.
Being filled with hope is the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. As you take time and meditate on the word, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. (John 14:26). He will remind you of all the good things the Lord has done. He will show you the Lord’s faithfulness, the Lord’s goodness, the Lord’s salvation and the Lord’s strength. He will point to times in your own life where the Lord has come through for you and He will fill your mind with the miraculous acts throughout scripture where his people were delivered, set free and given a second chance. Paul goes on to tell us in (Romans 15:4) that “whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” The word is full of hope and promises for the future. It is impossible to read it and dwell on it and to remain the same.
David in Psalm 27 found that as he waited on the Lord he found courage and strength. For him waiting was not a passive action; it was rather a time of aligning his heart back with the truth of who God was and what he had called him for. Many times circumstances can feel like they are going to overwhelm us but the reality is we have allowed them to appear bigger than God. Today we need to remind ourselves of who we belong to. We are sons and daughters of the King of all kings (John 1:12), we are in this world but not of this world (John 17:16). We have an enemy who has been defeated (Col 2:15) and we have been called to reign in life (Romans 5:17). What is more, “we can come with confidence (and) draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”. (Hebrew 4:16).
As we set our minds on things above and fill them with the reality of heaven we will find that hope rises in our hearts and the negative thoughts no longer have a hold on us. So take time out today, feed on God’s word, commune with the Holy Spirit and let the light of Jesus illuminate the scriptures in a fresh way. I guarantee that as we fix our eyes on Jesus we will find that as David showed us, “ He shall strengthen your heart.” (Psalm 27:14)
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Unshakeable Hope Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2021