LIGHT OF HOPE AND HELP (1)

“…HOPE in GOD; for I shall yet praise Him, The HELP of my countenance and my God” – Psalm 42:11b

This New Month, we shall thrive by the LIGHT of HOPE and 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, The HELP of my countenance and my God” (Psa.42:11). There is Light in Hope and darkness in despair. By the Light of His Word, we can Hope in God for Help and never be put to shame! Divine Help responds to Living Hope in God.

The psalmist preached a sermon of Hope to himself, having been wrestling and struggling to sustain Hope in God. He was pondering within himself; his spirit trying to encourage and convince his soul to not be cast down, dejected, or depressed; but to long for and praise God, knowing that in His countenance is a very present HELP! One of the best sermons we can personally preach to ourselves is in three words: HOPE IN GOD! In everyday life however, Hope in God is not the usual tendency of men. It is easier to be downcast and disquieted in spirit.

Feeling hopeless can be like wandering around a really dark room and trying to find a lamp. On first entering, one would pause for a moment, hoping that the eyes will adjust to the darkness in order to make out a shape somewhere in the room. On seeing nothing but darkness, one would begin to move cautiously through the room, gently waving the hands through the air in an attempt to locate a lamp or other source of light. If one has no idea of the room’s layout, one is not even sure if there is a light source.

Sometimes we find ourselves in seemingly hopeless situations as we wander through life. Just like the dark room analogy, we may search desperately in the situation for some sort of hope. Being an unfamiliar territory that we didn’t plan on being in, we struggle for some point of reference to hold on to. When we don’t find any, we will begin to stumble around searching on our own for an answer that will make sense of the situation we’re faced with. After a while, we may even conclude that there is no hope to find a light source in the darkness of despair.

Praise God! Jesus is our Light of Hope and Help! When we put our Hope in Him for salvation, we’ve got the Light Source that never leaves our side. In the dark room of hopelessness, we do not need to search desperately for a light, we only need to remember to turn ours on! When we cling to Jesus, there’’ be no reason to stumble through darkness (Jh.8:12). When the devil turns the lights off and starts to throw his lies at us in the darkness, let’s pull out our Light of Hope and Help – Jesus Christ!