HOPE IN GOD FOR HELP

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? HOPE IN GOD; for I shall yet praise Him for the HELP of His countenance” – Psalm 42: 5

We will never be put to shame if we learn to HOPE IN GOD FOR HELP: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? HOPE IN GOD; for I shall yet praise Him for the HELP of His countenance” (Psa.42:5). Divine Help responds to living Hope in God. Here, the psalmist preached a sermon of hope and encouragement to himself. He was wrestling, fighting, and struggling to maintain Hope in God. He was engaged in a Fight for Hope! He was meditating and ruminating within himself; his spirit was trying to encourage and convince his soul to not be cast down, dejected, disquieted or depressed; to not lose hope; but to thirst for and praise God, knowing that in His countenance is very present HELP!

One of the best sermons we can personally preach to ourselves may be only three words long: Hope in God! But the Psalmist did more than this. Deep called unto deep, and Hope flowed and sang through him: “The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me” (v.8). In everyday life however, hoping in God is not the normal tendency of the natural person or the carnal mind. It is easier and more usual to give way to a downcast disposition or disquieted spirit. It will often take preaching diligently and forcefully to oneself to fight off discouragement and break through the barrier of despondency. But, if we must preach Hope, we must know “What is Hope?”

The word “Hope” is generally used in three ways: A desire for something good in the future – hope as a verb; something in the future that we desire – hope as a noun or the object of hope; and the basis or reason for thinking that our desire may be fulfilled. All three of these uses are found in the Bible, but subsumed within them is some measure of uncertainty. Biblical Hope has a distinctive meaning: It is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Biblical hope not only desires something good – it expects it to happen. And it is confident that it will happen. There is a certainty based on God’s promises, that the good we desire and expect will be done.

Biblical hope is not a wish or mere desire. It is a confident expectation for a positive future. When the Word says, “Hope in God!” it does not mean, “Cross your fingers.” It means: “Expect great things from God.” Hebrews 6: 9-12 describes this kind of Hope: “But, beloved, we are CONFIDENT of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each of you show the same diligence to the FULL ASSURANCE of HOPE until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” In addition to the zeal of the past, the believers were to Keep Hope Alive!

Hope in God – that confident expectation – presses on and never becomes sluggish. Believers are to go hard after full assurance of Hope to the end. We must keep Hope hot! We must pursue hope in the likeness of people of faith. Our God is the “God of Hope” (Rom.15:13). And Hope in Him is the sure pathway to receiving, experiencing, and enjoying Divine Help! Hope in God will give resounding answers to all who are taunting, “Where is your God?” (Psa.42:3,10).