Thoughts on Hope, Part 1

           “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

            A wise woman once quoted this verse to me to explain why I repeatedly had bouts of depression. I heard her at the time but I failed to see the impact it could have on a person’s life. So much of the problems people have in life stem from a lack of hope and not having their desires fulfilled.

            This is not the only Biblical verse that mentions, “hope.” Hope is mentioned in 141 different verses ranging from the Major Prophets in the Old Testament to the apostles in the New Testament. And there are many other passages of Scripture that deal with having hope that don’t use the word hope. And there are other passages of Scripture that talk about things and situations that are not as hopeless as they seem. Having hope could alleviate many of the issues I face in my daily life and in my beliefs about how the world functions, including believing that things will never change, or that things will not get better. However some verses speak more directly to those two issues and I will cite them also throughout this essay.

            There are several thoughts on hopelessness. One article that I read said there are nine forms of hopelessness based on three basic issues: attachment, mastery and survival. All of these issues are addressed in Scripture. For instance, attachment deals with feelings of alienation, forsakenness, or being uninspired. David is a great example of all these forms of hopelessness, as is Job. Both men felt the total despair that comes from feeling like no one cares about them anymore and have been separated from those people for various reasons. In Psalm 62:5-8 David says, 

“My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us.” 

Only a person who feels utterly alone would say that his only hope is from God. It doesn’t come from his loved ones, his friends, or his family. He feels abandoned by all and can only rely on God.

            Throughout the book of Job, Job’s friends and family tell him to give up and die. But Job responds that he will not do that because he has hope in God. At one point it is said of Job, “Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?” (Job 4:6). Again this is a person who could only trust in God; his friends and family had forsaken him and believed he was in dire trouble and would die.

            The antidote for this kind of hopelessness is to trust in God and in His Word. Psalm 130:5 says, “I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.” In Ecclesiastes 12:13 it says, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” So no matter what we hear from other people (or don’t hear from other people) the final word is to fear God and follow His Word. Hope is found for even the friendless, in God.