Help for the Hopeless
If you were to come to me and tell me you felt hopeless, this is what I'd say.
1) You're not. You cannot believe every thought that comes to your mind. Let it go. Hopelessness is a feeling, not a fact.
2) Because God IS love, God cannot NOT love you. You probably sang the same song I did as a child: "Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so." That Jesus loves you is a fact, not a feeling.
3) Nothing has EVER happened to you that hasn't first gone through God's sieve of approval. Whatever has caused you to feel hopeless, God was privy to before you and allowed it to happen. "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Cor. 10:13
4) Have faith in God, not faith in faith. Trusting your fears and believing your doubts produces hopelessness. Trusting God to overcome your doubts produces faith.
5) Read "A" scripture a day. If I tell you to read the Bible, you'll think the WHOLE Bible. If I tell you to read just one scripture a day, that's doable. Here's why you MUST be in the Word. "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17 You can't get faith any other way. The world can't give it to you, friends can't loan it to you and Satan will deceive you into thinking you don't have time to read or you can't concentrate long enough to understand it. So you don't even make an attempt. Here are my three go-to verses (you probably have some too) that I recommend memorizing so you can recall one any time: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19 -- "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want." Ps. 23:1 -- "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23. If you've come to me for help more than likely you know how much I'm in the WORD -- the WORD that produces faith -- and how much faith I have. The two cannot be separated.
6) Thank God for your situation. I'm not kidding. When I started thanking God for my situation, bad as I thought it was, I started seeing it from a different angle. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16, 17, 18 If God is leaving a burden in your life, then it's for your benefit and for his glory. Believe me, even though you may not see the benefit for a long time. "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Ps. 30:5
7) Don't only thank him for your situation, rejoice in it. The way to defeat Satan in suffering is to glorify God in it. "And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Rom. 5:2-4 "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds..." James 1:2
And finally, pray, even if it's only one word ("Father!") preferably on your knees. You'll be the height of a child and we all know what He does to children. He lifts them up.
1) You're not. You cannot believe every thought that comes to your mind. Let it go. Hopelessness is a feeling, not a fact.
2) Because God IS love, God cannot NOT love you. You probably sang the same song I did as a child: "Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so." That Jesus loves you is a fact, not a feeling.
3) Nothing has EVER happened to you that hasn't first gone through God's sieve of approval. Whatever has caused you to feel hopeless, God was privy to before you and allowed it to happen. "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can endure it." 1 Cor. 10:13
4) Have faith in God, not faith in faith. Trusting your fears and believing your doubts produces hopelessness. Trusting God to overcome your doubts produces faith.
5) Read "A" scripture a day. If I tell you to read the Bible, you'll think the WHOLE Bible. If I tell you to read just one scripture a day, that's doable. Here's why you MUST be in the Word. "So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17 You can't get faith any other way. The world can't give it to you, friends can't loan it to you and Satan will deceive you into thinking you don't have time to read or you can't concentrate long enough to understand it. So you don't even make an attempt. Here are my three go-to verses (you probably have some too) that I recommend memorizing so you can recall one any time: "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil 4:19 -- "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want." Ps. 23:1 -- "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22-23. If you've come to me for help more than likely you know how much I'm in the WORD -- the WORD that produces faith -- and how much faith I have. The two cannot be separated.
6) Thank God for your situation. I'm not kidding. When I started thanking God for my situation, bad as I thought it was, I started seeing it from a different angle. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16, 17, 18 If God is leaving a burden in your life, then it's for your benefit and for his glory. Believe me, even though you may not see the benefit for a long time. "Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Ps. 30:5
7) Don't only thank him for your situation, rejoice in it. The way to defeat Satan in suffering is to glorify God in it. "And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Rom. 5:2-4 "Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds..." James 1:2
And finally, pray, even if it's only one word ("Father!") preferably on your knees. You'll be the height of a child and we all know what He does to children. He lifts them up.
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