When It Hurts To Hope

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     In my last post I made a bold statement, “never lose hope.” Although generally speaking, I am a hopeful person even in challenging circumstances, a question came to mind after writing that as I reflected on the moments when it was harder to have hope. What do you do when it hurts to hope? Have you ever felt that a situation was so completely out of control and beyond repair that even the thought of having hope hurt? In times when it seems that hoping for something will only bring more disappointment, it is imperative that we evaluate where we are placing our hope. I can say this because I have been there. I have felt pain so intense that just trying to get myself to think hopeful thoughts brought me to tears. It is like this overwhelming fear that if I allow myself to even consider a positive outcome, it will only bring a greater feeling of devastation when what I hope for does not happen. It is a very real possibility that we must be willing to accept. It certainly does not mean that we should not have hope or that we should just accept defeat and go back to bed. It definitely does not warrant running away from everything. Although, let’s be honest, sometimes we may be thinking that is an option. If we can just get away from our problems, we will feel better, right? No, my friend. We will take the pain of our problems with us no matter where we go, because it is in our hearts and our minds.

What then are we supposed to do? We evaluate where our hope is. You see, if we put our hope in a person, they will likely let us down at some point. We are all human and capable of disappointing one another. If we put our hope in an event, we will be sad if it does not happen. Anything that is capable of failing is not safe to put our hope in. So, what do we do? I say this with absolute confidence, we put our trust in the Lord. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Can it get any better than that? Our Lord, who cannot tell a lie, said He already has plans for us. Those plans are to give us hope and a future.

The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 1:18 prays for us, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” Not only does God give us hope, He calls us to hope. How can that be? Does He not see the horrible things that happen in our lives? Of course, He does. There is not a single event or even a thought that escapes His awareness. How then can He “call” us to hope? The answer is found in Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” God has a purpose and plan for each one of us. It is a confidence we can have in our relationship with Him.

The problem comes when we believe that our plan for our lives is better than His. If we do not know what His plan is, how then can we say that our plan is better? As God’s Word says, He works ALL things together for our good. If we put our hope in our will, we may be heartbroken if it does not happen. If we put our hope in God to accomplish His good will in our lives, we won’t be disappointed. His plan is FOR our good.

Let’s be real for a minute. The things we go through in life can be devastating. They can leave us feeling completely shattered. The enemy has three goals: steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He will do anything to keep us from experiencing the joy of seeing God’s plan for us fulfilled. Paul tells us to be sober and vigilant (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy will try to fill our minds with thoughts that take our sight off of God and puts it onto our problems. Be mindful of this. Keep your eyes focused on God no matter what you see or feel. Be encouraged, God is in control! He has the final say. It does not matter what it looks like in this very moment. His promises are true! In this we CAN have hope!

We see what is happening now, but we cannot possibly see what God sees. This is where trust comes in and works hand in hand with hope. We CAN trust God with our circumstances and our future because we know He will work everything together for our good. The “good” is coming, but we will have to wait for it. The wait can sometimes be long. If we can just trust that God is working on our behalf to work even the darkest places out for our good, we can have a fulfilling hope.

Consider for a moment when Joseph, who had a difficult life to begin with, was put in prison. It went from bad to starting to look up, to worse. Having already been betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit, and sold into slavery, Genesis 39 begins with Joseph being bought by an officer of Pharaoh named Potiphar. It was not a good situation from the start. Fortunately, the Lord was with Joseph, and everything Joseph did prospered. This was evident to Potiphar. Therefore, Potiphar made Joseph the overseer of his house and put everything he had under Joseph’s authority. Finally, things are looking up. Then along comes Potiphar’s wife who had her eyes on Joseph, and propositioned him (vs. 7). When he refused and tried to get away, she screamed and made false accusations against him.

When Potiphar heard this, his anger was aroused. The Bible states in Genesis 39:20-23, “Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.”

At this point you may be wondering, if the Lord was “with” Joseph, why was all of this happening to begin with? Well, that’s a discussion for another time perhaps. What is important to see here, is the events that happen next. We see in Genesis 40 that Joseph has two fellow prisoners placed under his charge, the chief butler and the chief baker. Each of them has a dream that is perplexing them. Joseph comes in and says, “Why do you look so sad today?” An interesting question for someone confined to prison. They tell him they each had a dream but there is no interpretation of it. Joseph advises that interpretations belong to God. However, knowing that the Lord gifted him with dream interpretation he tells them to share their dreams with him. The interpretation of the butler’s dream was good and promising. The baker’s, well, not so good. As a matter of fact, it was awful and symbolic of his death. Perhaps, Joseph could have softened it up a bit, but he was blunt and honest. Joseph asked the butler to remember him when he is restored to his place in the house.

TWO YEARS later, in Genesis 41, Pharaoh has a dream. Finally, the butler remembered that Joseph can interpret dreams and tells Pharaoh, who then sends for Joseph. Although we may not know exactly how long Joseph was in jail for, we know it was at least ten years. Finally, it all gets redeemed when Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dream and is then appointed over all the land to prepare for the famine.

As a result of the famine, Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt to get grain, not knowing it was Joseph they were asking for it from. Long story short, after Joseph puts them through some tests, he realizes their hearts changed and they were deeply remorseful for what they had done. He demonstrates his forgiveness in 45:5-8, “⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. ⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.” Then in 50:20 Joseph speaks words of encouragement that we often quote today, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

As we see, it was an act of evil from Joseph’s brothers that started off the extensive trial and suffering that Joseph would endure. Yet in God’s sovereignty and goodness He used it for good. Despite everything he went through, Joseph saw that the greater picture was far beyond his pain. He saw that God had not only been there all along, but was working everything out for good. It was not just Joseph that benefited, many people were kept alive! Joseph knew that God had given him the gift of dream interpretation early in his life. He knew it was given for a reason, and he trusted God. He kept his eyes on God. That got him through the disappointment and the heartache. It was not until he endured this heavy trial that his gift was used by God to fulfill His divine purpose. There is more to the story than what we see. There is something far beyond what we can even imagine.

What we choose to focus on will determine how we see and experience our circumstances. Our perspective can literally be a matter of life or death. If we see our situation as completely hopeless it can lead to a serious depression; even suicidal thoughts or action. On the other hand, if we trust God that He does have a plan even if we cannot see it, we can rest in hope. If we trust that the plan does not end with what we currently see, we can begin to catch the little glimpses of light in our circumstances. We can have hope and we can endure the trials we face. Proverbs 13:12 states, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.” We can wait with expectation knowing a desired end is coming. It may not be the exact outcome we desire, but a good expectation of God’s desire nonetheless.

Romans 15:13 states, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Did you catch that? It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can abound in hope. We have help to remain in hope. Having hope is not something that comes natural to us in times of trouble, but God gives us a helper to comfort us and give us hope. In John 14:27, Jesus tells us that He leaves His peace with us. He says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” It is not the kind of peace the world gives, which is a temporary peace based on circumstance. It is the kind of peace that fills our entire being in even the worst situations. It is a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). We can hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, because God who promised it is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

I pray that the Lord will pour out His peace over you and comfort you in any situation that you may be facing. I pray that He will strengthen you and give you grace. Do not lose hope, but put your trust in our Eternal Hope which is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He loves you and adores you. Put your hope in Jesus. He will take this painful situation and use it for good. Wait on Him, He is faithful!