“…Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost.” Ezekiel 37:11
Dear Ones:
Hope is a very powerful thing. The power of hope, it’s capacity to endure, traverse, and overcome adversity and apparent “hopelessness,” resides in the OBJECT of hope. That which distinguishes “hope” in the things of the world, and that which is IN Jesus Christ, is the unchanging faithfulness, commitment and resolute declaration of the accomplishment of what Christ has said, and says still. He will fulfill His promises.
When Jonah was in the belly of the fish at the bottom of the sea, it took three days in the darkness of that wretched experience for this prophet of God to again look only, and certainly, at his ONLY object of hope. Only God could come to his aid to deliver him, for only God could hear his cry. The hopelessness of the situation, from a human standpoint, became a hopeful, certain expectation. The Object of Jonah’s hope, heard his cry, and came to save.
It was after the great victory over the prophets of Baal, when Elijah had prayed and the fire from God descended upon the sacrifice before the people of Israel, that Jezabel would send word to Elijah that she intended to destroy him. It was at this moment that Elijah fled into the wilderness, there to ask the Lord to take his life, considering himself “…no better than his fathers.” How strange it seems to us that one could know such a magnificent, and demonstrative revelation of the glory of God, and then to see this man of God, not only run for his life, but ask God to take it, as he felt worthless. What does this reveal to us of this matter of hope? First, it shows us that, regardless of who we are, whether prophet or not, we can lose sight of our great Hope, this blessed Almighty Hope, who is waiting to intervene for the one who truly trusts Him, who truly calls upon Him. Secondly, it reveals to us that there is a God who is “…a very present help in time of trouble,” who will NOT fail or forsake those who trust Him.
In the case of Israel, Jonah, and Elijah, there was a time, whether short or long, when this object, this Person of Hope, was forgotten. Israel, because of the disaster, destruction, and desolation created by the deportation, became convinced that God had forsaken her. But this was not so. As for Jonah, there must have been similar thoughts for a time which entered Jonah’s mind, as he KNEW that he had turned aside from God to flee from Him, and His mission. But he,like Israel, was brought to cry out in his need, and this blessed HOPE met him. Israel would return to the land, and Jonah would be vomited by the fish onto dry land. We don’t know all of the reasons for which Elijah gave up hope, or lost sight of his blessed Person Of Hope. There is no doubt that he was exhausted because of his flight from Jezebel, greatly needing food and sleep. Somehow two thoughts came to dominate him, the first being that of his own worthlessness, and the secondly, that he was the only one left who had chosen to follow God, and not bow to the idol, Baal. As in the case of Israel, and Jonah, so here in the life of Elijah, the Lord deals with Him to reveal to him that he was wrong. The God of Hope had not left him alone, and that He would fulfill His ongoing purpose in and through him. The call of God to each of them was, in essence, “Have faith in God…the God of Hope.”
Dear Father, Thou God of hope, be Thou our Hope and Say, our Security and Rock. Anoint our eyes to see Thee as the Sovereign God who has committed Himself to us in a covenant relationship, which cannot, and never will be altered. Give us to understand that You are not only our ONLY hope, but that One who is faithful, fulfilling Thy word, in answer to our cry. We praise and thank Thee in Jesus’ name.
Love, Dad