Hope for the Hopeless

Have you ever found yourself in a situation that seemed hopeless?  Bad situations often become worse.  It is easy to be burdened under stress and trials which churn out turmoil without end.  Perhaps you have been in an abusive relationship, as a child or an adult.  Maybe a loved one is dying with a terminal illness or you have been diagnosed with one yourself.  Your expectations have been crushed, your hopes shrouded in frustration and disappointment.  Hopelessness occurs when we measure our abilities against a scenario and find them wanting.  We are faced with the reality that we do not possess the power to create change in another person or situation.  How can we live in the face of our frailty and failures?

In the Bible the Answer to this question is given.  To this day, leprosy remains incurable yet treatable.  In the days of Christ, it included grotesque disfigurement of the body, living in isolation with others who were suffering like affliction, and certain death.  When one contracted leprosy there was no hope for restoration.  Luke 17:12-14 tells us an occasion in the life of Jesus Christ:  "Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. [13] And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" [14] So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed."  Jesus enters the village of these hopeless men, stricken with leprosy.  They stood afar off, but Jesus went to them.  This reminds me of Ephes. 2:13, though I'm a little ahead of myself:  "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ."  From the depths of their hopeless situation they called out to Christ who was able and willing to bring healing to them as they obeyed.  Obedience to God does not mean we will be free from disease, but God is free to accomplish His will in our lives.  In this case, Jesus healed these men and changed their lives miraculously, dramatically, and completely.

Paul and Silas provide another example of a hopeless situation changed by the grace of God.  There was a fortune-telling slave girl who had a demon which Paul cast out of her in the name of Jesus Christ.  When her masters saw their hope of making money through her was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and the whole city was in an uproar.  They had delivered a girl from the enslavement of the demon but were incarcerated themselves.  Acts 16:22-23 says, "Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods. [23] And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely."  They were stripped, beaten severely, and thrown into prison.  This was a seemingly hopeless situation.  Paul and Silas were traveling through Macedonia and found themselves bleeding in a dungeon, chained in stocks, with their clothes ripped to shreds.

Instead of Paul and Silas bemoaning their situation or focusing on themselves, they praised God.  Acts 16:25 tells us, "But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."  There was a great earthquake, the doors flew open, and all the chains were loosed.   Acts 16:27-34 says, "And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. [28] But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here." [29] Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. [30] And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" [31] So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." [32] Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. [33] And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. [34] Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household."

The prison guard prepared to fall upon his own sword, his life being forfeit if a prisoner had escaped.  To die by his own sword would be better than enduring the torture performed on those who failed in their duties as a Roman guard.  Paul called out, preventing the man's death.  The guard called for a light and said, "What must I do to be saved?"  At midnight in a Roman dungeon, he had seen the Light of Salvation shining brightly in these two bloodied prisoners who sang and prayed with all their might out of the darkness.  Paul explained that trust in Jesus Christ as LORD is the path of salvation.  Though Paul and Silas could have drowned in hopelessness and self-pity, they rejoiced and praised God who had given them life which they could share with others.  Notice that the passage ends with the guard rejoicing, "having believed in God with all his household."  The Bible is clear in teaching that Jesus Christ is God.  This passage provides ample irrefutable proof of that!  As Jesus says in John 14:6, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.

As Christians, we live in a dark world that we are powerless in ourselves to change.  We see people everywhere sick in sin and without hope.  They numb themselves with alcohol, mask their depression with pills, cut themselves, binge, purge, hate, lie, and bounce from one abusive relationship to another.  These people go to church every Sunday morning.  There is hopelessness that creeps into our hearts when we think about the people we are forced to deal with, situations at work that will not change, sickness in a loved one, and broken relationships having split in divorce.  Tack on the earthquake in Haiti, starvation, exploitation of children and adults in the sex trade, addictions, racism, violence, abortion, and the downward spiral of morality in the world, and we can be overwhelmed!

The answer to hopelessness is Jesus Christ.  If we focus on the problems, we will never find the solution.  If we try to find the answer within, we find we are bankrupt.  Even if we had all the money in the world, we could not ensure children would not be beaten or molested, or that food would be provided for everyone.  Money does not buy happiness, nor can it buy hope.  But if Jesus could bring hope and healing to those lepers suffering from an incurable disease, He can bring hope and healing to you today.  Christ provides not only the answer but power for living through the Holy Spirit.  If God is able to bring hope and deliverance to men who were beaten and locked in a Roman dungeon, He can bring hope and deliverance to you right now.  If Jesus Christ could bring salvation and rejoicing to a Roman guard, He can bring salvation and rejoicing to you today.  He is not dead, for He is risen!  Jesus is not the God of the dead, but of the living.  He brings life and hope to all who trust in Him.

Praise Jesus Christ!  Pray with thanksgiving, for in Him we have the unfading hope of eternal life!  Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with God.  Hopelessness comes from a perspective not focused solely upon Christ.  This is hope we can share with all who hunger and thirst for it!  May the words from the famous hymn ring true:  "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name.  On Christ the solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand."