The Necessity Of Hope

The contemplation of suicide demonstrates the necessity of hope! While the circumstances surrounding suicide are varied, many turn to suicide because of a loss of hope. He or she has decided that life"s not worth living. This tells us in order to live we need hope that will sustain us through life"s painful circumstances. Where do we find the kind of hope that will anchor us when our little boat has capsized on the sea of life?

I was raised in a Christian home since I was 2 years old. As long as I colored inside the prescribed lines, life was easy. I was in my late teens and early twenties before I began to experience the turbulence of life. Until then, I did not know that Christians could experience extreme feelings of hopelessness. But, we really can!

Sunday morning service was interrupted with a very urgent prayer request. Karen had been rushed to the emergency room early that morning as a result of a failed suicide attempt. Immediately, I turned to my mother sitting beside me and said, "Mom, we have to go see Karen". Not knowing what to expect, we walked into the hospital room. Karen had tubes coming out of her everywhere. I could see charcoal being pumped into her stomach. She barely recognized us. Her arms were black and blue with bruises and cuts. How did this happen? How could Karen, a believer, come to the point of such hopelessness?

Your Life Will Not Make Sense Without An Eternal Perspective.

You cannot understand who you are and why you struggle on the earth until you begin to see yourself in the context of ETERNITY.

Colossians 3:1 - 4 tells us "...believers, aim at and seek the eternal treasures above where Christ is...set your minds and keep them set on what is above, the higher things, not on the things of the earth...your life is hidden with Christ...when Christ, who is our life, appears, you also will appear with Him in the splendor of glory".

Here"s The Key...

We must keep our minds on eternal things above and not on temporal things of the earth. Only then can you make sense of your Monday morning blues.

Christ did not leave us on the earth without comfort; the Eternal God has His dwelling place in us. If you"re a believer, Christ is dwelling inside of you. This reality dynamically changes everything. I have sorrows, yes. But, I do not grieve as those who have no hope. I have Hope! Hope lives inside of me! "Christ in me, the Hope of glory".

"The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations (from angels and men), but is now revealed to the saints. To whom God was pleased to make known how great...are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within you, the Hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27 AMP).

God Moments...

I was 17 years old, a senior in High School, sitting in the classroom, when this passage was highlighted to me one day by Holy Spirit. It was what I call a God moment! Today, whenever I hear this passage, I am immediately drawn back to the memory of that day. "Christ in you, the Hope of Glory". This phrase played over, and over, and over in my mind. Consequently, this verse is among one of my favorites.

I recall another God moment when I was 13 years of age. I was sitting in front of the television late one evening as I watched one of those 80"s premier action police dramas. If my memory serves me correctly, it may have been HUNTER. Rick Hunter was a homicide detective who along with his female partner, Dee Dee McCall would investigate Los Angeles most bizarre murders. On this particular night, this episode was about hopeless, despairing young people who concluded that their lives no longer mattered. They lived without purpose. They lived without hope. They were angry with the circumstances that life had dealt them. And they sought revenge. The storyline continued to investigate a murder-suicide.

"This is someone"s reality", I thought. "This really happens everyday - somewhere". Suddenly, it was as if an arrow pierced my heart. I began to sob profusely. And, I heard the internal voice of the Lord call me to bring a message of hope to those who were so hopeless that they desired to end their lives by suicide. I sobbed and sobbed for an hour. This was a God moment! I felt like my life had been marked by God as He gave me my life"s assignment - to bring a message of HOPE to the hopeless.

Within several years, HOPE began to be one of my touch words. In fact, I named my white Hyundai Excel, Lil" White Hope. Boy, those God moments are really powerful J. Don"t be surprised if I name my daughter, Hope!

Consider This...

"No one born of God deliberately, knowingly, and habitually practices sin, for God"s nature abides in him; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born of God" (I John 3:9 AMP). This is amazing! The very life of God abides, and dwells in my human spirit. I am not alone.

"This is the agreement (covenant) that I will set up and conclude with them after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts (emotions) and I will inscribe them on their minds (thoughts and understanding)" (Hebrews 10:16 AMP). We have the mind of Christ - this empowers your heart, and your emotions.

"That you may really come to know practically, through experience for yourselves, the love of Christ... that you may be filled (through your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body filled and flooded with God Himself!)" (Ephesians 3:19 AMP). Can you imagine your mind, body, and spirit flooded with God Himself?

"By means of these He has bestowed on us His precious and exceedingly great promises, so that through them you may escape from the moral decay (rottenness and corruption) that is in the world because of covetousness (lust and greed), and become sharers of the divine nature." (II Peter 1:4 AMP) We, redeemed human beings, share in the divine nature of God. Meditate on this reality.

My friend, life is worth living! God has a wonderful plan for your life! Anchor your life, your heart, and your emotions in this reality - in the revelation of the mystery... "CHRIST IN YOU, the HOPE of glory".

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