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Hope and Trust in God
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Ps. 31:24, NIV). What reasons do we have for putting our hope in the Lord?
Studies show that hope is a critical factor in mental health. An attitude of hope found in hostages makes a difference in survival. Hope is a great motivator and a source of mental and physical endurance. Most depression treatments work well in patients convinced that their mood can improve significantly and that they can be helped. Indeed, depression and anxiety often afflict those whose outlook on life is pessimistic, catastrophic, and hopeless. A hopeful attitude can make a big difference in our entire mental outlook.
But there is more than the general hope that whatever your present trial is, it will end well. Religious hope transcends the finite and focuses on the eternal. It points us to realities and truths and promises that the world, in and of itself, can never offer. It’s a hope found in the Creator God, who alone can give us what nothing else in the world can.
Read Matthew 26:36–44. What can we learn about trusting in God, even in terrible times, from Jesus’ example here?
The passage tells us of the Savior’s disheartened state. Carefully chosen words are used to describe Jesus’ painful emotions: troubled, exceedingly sorrowful (deeply distressed). Heartbroken and disregarded by His friends, He fell not only on His knees but on His face and asked His Father for relief. When relief did not come, He asked again. And again. Note that every time He posed His request, He asked for God’s will to be done. In the end, Jesus put all His trust in the Father. Regardless of what would happen, He sought to be surrendered to His Father. That was His way, and it must be ours, as well.
It’s one thing, trusting in the Lord in good times. But how can we learn to trust Him in bad times? How do we learn to trust when prayers are not answered as we wish?
| THURSDAY | March 24 |
“Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Ps. 31:24, NIV). What reasons do we have for putting our hope in the Lord?
Studies show that hope is a critical factor in mental health. An attitude of hope found in hostages makes a difference in survival. Hope is a great motivator and a source of mental and physical endurance. Most depression treatments work well in patients convinced that their mood can improve significantly and that they can be helped. Indeed, depression and anxiety often afflict those whose outlook on life is pessimistic, catastrophic, and hopeless. A hopeful attitude can make a big difference in our entire mental outlook.
But there is more than the general hope that whatever your present trial is, it will end well. Religious hope transcends the finite and focuses on the eternal. It points us to realities and truths and promises that the world, in and of itself, can never offer. It’s a hope found in the Creator God, who alone can give us what nothing else in the world can.
Read Matthew 26:36–44. What can we learn about trusting in God, even in terrible times, from Jesus’ example here?
The passage tells us of the Savior’s disheartened state. Carefully chosen words are used to describe Jesus’ painful emotions: troubled, exceedingly sorrowful (deeply distressed). Heartbroken and disregarded by His friends, He fell not only on His knees but on His face and asked His Father for relief. When relief did not come, He asked again. And again. Note that every time He posed His request, He asked for God’s will to be done. In the end, Jesus put all His trust in the Father. Regardless of what would happen, He sought to be surrendered to His Father. That was His way, and it must be ours, as well.
It’s one thing, trusting in the Lord in good times. But how can we learn to trust Him in bad times? How do we learn to trust when prayers are not answered as we wish?
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