How to Hope in God When it Seems Hopeless

When it seems we’ve reached the end of our rope and everything seems hopeless, you can still have hope in Christ.

Hope in His Love – Psalm 33:18

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18).

When it seems we’ve reached the end of our rope and everything seems hopeless, you can still have hope in Christ. King David had been in peril often, running for his life, even so, the Psalmist reminds us that we have no hope outside of God. For all of those who love Him and obey Him, and have put their trust in Christ, there is hope that cannot be destroyed. The psalmist wrote, “Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 33:18). Imagine God’s eye is on you, 24/7. His steadfast love remains fixed on those who fear Him. To fear God doesn’t mean the fear of being destroyed, but having a holy, reverential respect and awe for God and for God’s Word, the Bible.

Hope in Turmoil – Psalm 42:5

Even in all of the turmoil of our lives, we who have hope in God and can praise Him even when things around us are falling apart. The Psalmist had supreme confidence in God writing; “Hope in God; for I shall again praise him” (Psalm 42:5). What was his hope in God about? He answers it was about “my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5b-6a) that he gave praise to God for. Again, he repeats the praise of God in relation to having hope by asking himself the rhetorical question, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:11). When we’re cast down and there is turmoil in our life, praise God for the security of His salvation that we have in Jesus Christ (Rom 8:25-29).

Hope in Grace – 1 Peter 1:13

Read how the Apostle Peter encourages us by reminding us of the hope we have through the sinless life, the death and the resurrection of Christ but also the hope that grace gives us for our future. Since we have trusted in Christ, we are instructed to be “preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13). If our hope is fully set on the grace of God, we’ll more likely be preparing our minds by growing the grace and knowledge of our Lord (2 Pet 3:18). By the way, that too is a command. We are to be discipled by the church’s teachers and pastors and elders, but also we’re commanded to make disciples of all nations, while not forgetting to go next door. We need to share this hope in Christ with a world without true and lasting hope.

Hope Our Anchor – Hebrews 6:19

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain” (Heb 6:19).

The author of Hebrews shows us that our hope is not a hope-so hope, but a know-so hope because we have assurance in the God Who saved us. Our faith in Christ is like a ship that’s been anchored in a safe harbor. The Author of Hebrews says that “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain” (Heb 6:19). The “inner place behind the curtain” was forbidden and was instant death to enter before Jesus Christ came, but now we can boldly (but reverently) enter the holy of holies in the heavenly sanctuary because of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Our hope in God is more sure than any anchor because “two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us” (Heb 6:18).

The Hope of No Shame – Romans 5:2

If you seek to have hope, camp out in Romans 5 because Paul tells us that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and this character produces hope that never puts us to shame. It is not by sheer effort or by our own striving, but it is “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:2). Notice the “faith” is in the past tense, having already attained and by which we now stand. It’s like the old hymn, “I’m Standing on the Promises of God.” There is great hope knowing you can’t lose that faith (Rom 8:37-39) and that it is a free, unearned gift of God (Eph 2:8-9). The hope that the world has can disappoint, but our “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

Conclusion

If you are not in Christ, then you are most hopeless indeed for He is the One and only way to the Father (John 6:44). There is simply no other way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven except by and through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12, 16:30-31). If there was another way, then Jesus died for nothing, but indeed, He did die for us and even while we were ungodly, wicked enemies of His (Rom 5:6-10). Amazing grace indeed! Put your hope in a God that Who will never forsake you or never, ever leave you (John 6:37, 39). If you still have not yet trusted in the Son of God, then Jesus Christ will be your Judge someday. If He is already your Savior today, God’s case against you has been dropped. Therefore I beg you who read this to repent of your sins right now, today. Put your trust in Savior or you will surely face God’s judgment after death (Heb 9:27) or at Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), whichever comes first.

Here is some related reading for you: Bible Verses About Hope – 20 Uplifting Scripture Quotes

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: faith, grace, Hope, Hope in God, Hopeless, Hopeless Times