Lord, I have lost all hope!

My desperate prayer had barely formed in my thoughts when a quiet voice in my heart interrupted a gush of tears.

You have not lost hope. I am your hope. You have not lost me.

Our God hears! And he cares. His assurance brought change—not in the circumstances but in my perspective.

God is my hope. Therefore losing hope is impossible because I can never lose him. His indwelling presence is a fact. And I am secure in that truth.

When I feel I've lost all hope, I remember. God is my hope. Losing hope is impossible because I can never lose him. Click To Tweet

Have you ever lost hope? Many around us—and many before us—have known that hopeless feeling, expressed succinctly by Job in his affliction: “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?” (Job 6:11 NIV). “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope” (Job 7:6-7 NIV).

Throughout the Psalms we find reassurance of the source of our hope.

“For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord God, my confidence since my youth. From birth I have relied on you; You brought me forth from my mother’s womb. I will ever praise you” (Psalm 71:5-6).

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:11).

Hope involves waiting. “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope” (Psalm 130:5).

The prophet Jeremiah penned these amazing words.

“Yet this I call to my mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:21-26 KJV).

Are you running low on hope? As long as circumstances offer any hope, we will not hope in God. Are you there?

Hear the words of Apostle Paul to Timothy:

“…we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Years have passed since the day I felt I’d lost all hope. I don’t remember the circumstance. But I’ll never forget the Lord’s words to me.

You have not lost hope. I am your hope. You have not lost me.

Our hope is in the living God!

The Sovereign Lord said, “…Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23b).

The Sovereign Lord said, “…Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed” (Isaiah 49:23b). Click To Tweet

“Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:24).

“The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love” (Psalm 147:11).

“Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—the Lord, who remains faithful forever” (Psalm 146:5-6).

“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone” (Psalm 71:14-16).

“May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord; even as we put our hope in  you” (Psalm 33:22).

Have you ever felt hopeless? Please tell me about that and how God brought you through it. And I’d appreciate your sharing this with your friends!

© Dianne Barker 2019

(Scriptures from NIV)