Hopelessness is one of the saddest words I know. That bleak feeling of having no expectation of success or improvement can be overwhelming. Believe me when I say that God does not want you to stay in a state of hopelessness. After all, it is the opposite of what He promises. Consider what the Lord says in Jeremiah 29:11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.God promises hope and our job is to wait and watch. This is the very idea the psalmist is conveying in Psalm 130. Notice how he cries out in despair to His heavenly Father but reminds himself of promised hope.
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy. If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped. I pray to God—my life a prayer--
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning. O Israel, wait and watch for God--
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.My friend, this song teaches us the formula for dealing with hopelessness.
1. Cry out to God. Verbalize your pain and suffering to Him. Doing so will add dignity to your suffering because it allows you to enter into the depths and be near to where Jesus was when he was dying on the cross.
2. Wait and watch. Does it seem like these are two of the hardest words in our language sometimes? We don't like waiting do we? But when we wait with expectation while watching for evidence of God in our lives, we are grabbing onto the hope that He is offering.
3. Remind yourself of the goodness and faithfulness of God. The traveling Israelites knew sunrise was a sure thing. And, God is a sure thing. Proclaim that your suffering will never the ultimate bottom line. For the Christian, God is the foundation and therefore the bottom line.
No wonder the Israelites sang this song as they journeyed along to Jerusalem. Their trips were dangerous and their nights were scary. Can't you just imagine the wild animals that had their eyes on them as they slept on the side of the road? They assigned a watchman to guard them who just watched and waited until the sunrise. He knew it was coming. I can assure you my friend, your sunrise is also coming.
Journaling prompts
1. Describe how you feel when you read Psalm 130. What does it mean to you?
2. What are some areas in you life that you have feelings of hopelessness. Write a letter to God and describe them.
3. What do you sense God is saying to you as you write your letter to Him?
Help, God—the bottom has fallen out of my life!
Master, hear my cry for help!
Listen hard! Open your ears!
Listen to my cries for mercy. If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings,
who would stand a chance?
As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,
and that’s why you’re worshiped. I pray to God—my life a prayer--
and wait for what he’ll say and do.
My life’s on the line before God, my Lord,
waiting and watching till morning,
waiting and watching till morning. O Israel, wait and watch for God--
with God’s arrival comes love,
with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
No doubt about it—he’ll redeem Israel,
buy back Israel from captivity to sin.My friend, this song teaches us the formula for dealing with hopelessness.
1. Cry out to God. Verbalize your pain and suffering to Him. Doing so will add dignity to your suffering because it allows you to enter into the depths and be near to where Jesus was when he was dying on the cross.
2. Wait and watch. Does it seem like these are two of the hardest words in our language sometimes? We don't like waiting do we? But when we wait with expectation while watching for evidence of God in our lives, we are grabbing onto the hope that He is offering.
3. Remind yourself of the goodness and faithfulness of God. The traveling Israelites knew sunrise was a sure thing. And, God is a sure thing. Proclaim that your suffering will never the ultimate bottom line. For the Christian, God is the foundation and therefore the bottom line.
No wonder the Israelites sang this song as they journeyed along to Jerusalem. Their trips were dangerous and their nights were scary. Can't you just imagine the wild animals that had their eyes on them as they slept on the side of the road? They assigned a watchman to guard them who just watched and waited until the sunrise. He knew it was coming. I can assure you my friend, your sunrise is also coming.
Journaling prompts
1. Describe how you feel when you read Psalm 130. What does it mean to you?
2. What are some areas in you life that you have feelings of hopelessness. Write a letter to God and describe them.
3. What do you sense God is saying to you as you write your letter to Him?