The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man. Job 14:19
Hope is a powerful thing. It is said that with hope nothing is impossible. The Bible is a book filled with hope. Moreover, the phrases “hope in God” and “hope in the Lord” occur 5 times in the KJV (Ps. 43:5, 78:7, 31:24, 130:7 & 131:3). If God-centered hope is central in keeping one living on the path that leads to eternal life, then why would the opening scripture reveal to us that God exercises His ability to destroy the possibility of us attaining it? Is this possible? And if so, why would God do this?
It is understood that the scriptures explicitly tell us that God cannot be pleased without faith (Heb 11:6) and faith is the bedrock on which any kind of walk with God rests. The Word of God is paramount and is the source code upon which all things in Heaven and on Earth are created (Gen 1:2, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24 & 26; Joh 1:1). And we also know Jesus is the visible and tangible manifestation of that Word through the incarnation as God in flesh (Joh 1:14; 2Cor 4:6; Col 1:15-17). So, faith in God’s word and faith in Jesus are elementary understandings any believer will embrace in their walk of knowing God and in pursuing Him in deeper dimensions. Then why would God intentionally disrupt this foundation of faith as stated in Job 14:10 to the point of causing one to become hopeless?
Could it be that God has a purpose in doing this? And if He does, what would that purpose be? We just may be surprised where this leads us.
Love Is In the Crosshairs
“Love is the activating force from which faith gets its energy” – Marie Beth Evans
Jesus warned us of many things during his earthly ministry. But two things come to the surface that he pinpoints to be on the lookout during the Endtime – deception/false doctrine (Mat 7:15, 16:6; Luk 12:1 & 21:8) and this:
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew 24:12
The fallout of lifeless love is a waning of a true, pure love of God and a compassionate love for our neighbor. Do we really need to validate the latter? All one has to do is read, watch or listen to the latest news cycle reporting on of the affairs of our present world. Why is this? It is because the enemy knows that if he can wear you down through the iniquity of this age, he can cripple the love needed to energize your faith and overcome hopelessness:
For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. KJV
When you’re placed into the Anointed One and joined to him, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love. TPT Galatians 5:6
The word “worketh” in the KJV verse is the Greek word ἐνεργέω (energeō) which means “to be active, efficient, effectual (fervent), or be mighty in” – Strongs In short, for faith to survive in hopeless circumstances, it must be coupled by a love that is alive and real. Going back to the question of why Jesus would bring a believer to a point of hopelessness. It is because the true test of the purity and depth of our love for God is proven in times of hopeless situations.
Case in point. The Apostle Paul suffered a tragic shipwreck on his journey to Rome. The Bible tells us that it was literally a hopeless situation (Acts 27:20). However, Paul’s love for Jesus was deeper than the sea of despair out to demolish his faith. Paul held dear to his heart the forgiveness, compassion, patience, and mercy Jesus showered over his life. During the darkness of a personal prayer closet, he refused to forget what God had done in his life and sought out the One who loved him and gave himself for him. And in the end, hopelessness failed its mission (Acts 27:43-44).
Faith Is Not The Ultimate Prize … Love Is
One can have faith in God, and simultaneously, have a shallow and tepid love for God. Is this substantiated by scripture? Yes, it is. The apostle John in his letters to seven churches in Asia Minor, one was addressed to a people in such a state:
And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Revelation 2:3-4
The church in question was located in Ephesus. They exercised great faith. They “labored” with gusto and great zeal. They were even steadfast and unrelenting in their pursuit of “church work”. However, Jesus was not impressed with these things. He was displeased because they lacked the one critical component he desires in His people – Love.
Faith alone will not get the job done that is needed in trying times. Times such as these. Could it be you were chosen to live in this Endtime age for this very reason, to allow a proven love of and for God, coupled with faith (your faith) purified by life’s fiery trials and temptations to radiate the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ?
It is of this blogger’s opinion that it is. God has chosen you for “a time such as this” for primarily one purpose – to give God glory. And it very well may be that God has yet to reveal some glorious and magnificent aspects of His being to this world by using this turbulent and perplexing age to do it. And He can only reveal it through a people called by his name, led by His Spirit and faithfully walking in His will.
God did it through Moses and the nation of Israel (Exo 7:5; Deu 9:29), Daniel and the exiled Hebrew children (Dan 2:47, 3:28), Joshua and wandering nomads (Jos 2:9-11), Esther and a persecuted minority (Est 8:17), and many others. And He is looking for vessels today that He can use to shine forth His glory.
Notice the position of the word “hope” in what we know as the Lord’s chapter of love in the NT:
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7
Hope is right after faith in the chain of instructions to keep love alive in one’s life – in all things.
There Is Still Hope in Hopelessness
Where do we go from here? Or what do we do when we find ourselves in a hopeless situation and it seems God has drifted away and it appears He is unconcerned about our plight? Could it be him calling through the calamity? Then we turn back to God in repentance, allow the fallow ground in our lives to be broken, surrender and reclaim the love of Jesus we walked away from. There is a scripture in Psalms worth mentioning here:
For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? Psalms 56:13
The psalmist wrote these words during a hopeless situation. He was surrounded by his enemies and the devourer was gnashing his teeth over his soul. What did he do? He reflected on God’s past, His present and His future work in his life. He figured, since God saved him from death, would he not also keep him the rest of the way through life?
Jesus has already paid the price for our redemption on the cross and paved the way for us to acquire eternal life. Does it not make sense that Jesus will also keep us on the journey lying ahead where this thing we know as life ends? We must believe that he will.
Happy New Year & God’s Blessings to You! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Messes To Masterpieces 