By F. D. Adkins
This week I searched God’s Word thinking about the word “hopeless” because, as trials and tribulations come our way, sometimes situations arise that appear hopeless. I know I have felt that way before. It is like a huge weight comes crashing down on my shoulders and an answer does not seem to be anywhere in sight. So, I want to share some examples from my study.
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The Israelites were trapped. The Egyptians were approaching on one side and the Red Sea was on the other. I’m sure it must have appeared ‘hopeless’. BUT…
- “… and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided” (Exodus 14:21 KJV).
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. They were cast bound into the fiery furnace. I would assume that all those witnessing this saw a ‘hopeless’ situation for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. BUT…
- “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24-25 KJV).
Daniel was cast into a den of lions, and a stone was placed at the mouth of the den to seal it. The scenario looked pretty ‘hopeless’ for Daniel. BUT…
- When the king went to the den the next morning and called out to Daniel, Daniel answered him. “My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me…” (Daniel 6:22 KJV).
Take a look at Sarah who at an old age was without children. She even laughed at the mention of having a child. Why? Because at her age having a child sounded impossible or ‘hopeless’. BUT…
- “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him” (Genesis 21:1-2 KJV).
Saul persecuted followers of Jesus. He was present at the stoning of Stephen, and he arrested believers and took them to prison. One might believe that a heart this hardened against Christ could never be transformed. Some might see a change in this man’s heart as ‘hopeless’. BUT…
- We know the story of how God got a hold of Saul’s heart. Saul was blinded and three days later when he received his sight, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20 KJV).
Finally, I turned to the story of Stephen. And maybe you are asking why I would do that. Stephen was stoned to death for his faith. Yet, what a story of hope I see. We live in a world where the devil is running rampant. We live in a world where bad things happen. We live in a world where horrible tragedies exist. However, in the story of Stephen, I see a man who knew his hope was not in this world. I see a man who did not seek to store up treasure on the earth. I see a man whose hope was in what was to come. I see a man whose hope was in Jesus and spending eternity in Heaven with Him. Yes, Stephen was stoned. And those that watched this scene, such as Saul, at that moment probably saw Stephen’s situation as ‘hopeless’. BUT…
- If we look at the words Stephen says before he dies, we know his situation was far from hopeless because Stephen saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Stephen had finished his race filled with trials and tribulations and troubles. He had kept his faith and stood for Christ, and now he was entering into the presence of God to live forever in his eternal, permanent home. Here is what God’s Word says about Stephen. “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56 KJV).
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As I finished up this blog about my Bible study, I flipped over to Facebook right before I went to bed. And the photo on the screen brought tears of joy to my eyes. So often, when we look around us, we see the path of destruction and turmoil that the devil is constantly wreaking in our world. But friends, this picture shouts GOD IS WORKING. Have I kept you waiting long enough? You want to know about the photo, right? Well, this post was about a child who had made the decision to follow Jesus. And pictured in the photo was this child with her Dad, Mom, and sister standing in the river. After this little girl accepted Jesus, her whole family made a statement of their faith and got baptized together.
So, when we look at the world around us, God is working. And when it doesn’t seem like an end to a problem is anywhere in sight or the burden will never lighten, remember, God isn’t done. As can be seen from my examples in my Bible study, the word ‘hopeless’ does not exist with God. I want to close this post with a Bible verse that I have clung to since my early teen years. This is a verse that has often filled my heart with peace when I felt those heavy weights crushing me down to the ground. This verse reminds me that my hope is in God, and I have to slow down, wait for Him to work, and He will give me new strength.
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31 KJV
