How Can We Have Hope When Everything Looks Hopeless?

How to rejoice in our sufferings by relying on God.

In Romans 5:3-5, Paul says that we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are a
people of hope: “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that
suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been
poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom. 5:3–
5, ESV).
So, how can we have hope when everything looks hopeless? In the midst of
suffering, we can rejoice because these challenges cause us to:
1. Rely on God’s presence
Rejoicing in suffering does not mean celebrating when bad news comes. But, it does
mean that we can believe that God is doing a redemptive work. This word
“redemptive” means that God does not waste a hurt or disappointment. He is using
them to shape and build us into the image of Jesus, which is his highest passion.
When we go through suffering, we often pray and seek God more intensely than at
other times. My greatest times of growth have been when I’ve reached the end of
my resources and all I have left is Jesus. God uses suffering to make us rely on his
presence.
In Psalm 23:4, David writes that he does not fear because God is with him. He relies
on God’s presence, and it brings him strength and comfort. Remember that for there
to be a shadow, there has to be a light. I don’t know what your “valley of the
shadow of death” is, but I do know who the Light is that is walking with you in that
valley.
In another Psalm, David reveals that one of the reasons for his joy is that he is
forgiven: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven whose sins are
covered (Ps. 31:1, NIV). We can’t determine God’s love for us based on good or bad
circumstances. We determine his love based on the cross and what he did for us on
it.
2. Rely on God’s provision
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, Paul reveals that he has suffered from a “thorn in the flesh.”
God was so concerned about Paul not becoming proud he allowed this to happen to
him to prevent him from becoming conceited.
In our current situations, God is saying to us that his grace is sufficient, and even
when we feel weak, he is making us stronger than we have ever been. His grace is
not an abstract idea. It is the person of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The hell you are going through may be the very circumstance God uses to take you
to a whole new level.
3. Rely on God’s power
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of
Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9b, ESV).
What is your weakness? Maybe it is a son or a daughter that hasn’t quite turned out
the way you thought he or she would. A job situation that has gone awry. A medical

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diagnosis that has scared you. Maybe, like Paul, it is also insults, hardships, or
persecutions. Whatever it is, Paul says he will boast in those things because when
we are weak, the power of Christ rests on us.
The greater the enemy comes at you, the greater Jesus is in you.
The greater the enemy comes at you, the greater Jesus is in you.
Maybe you hear voices telling you to just quit, give up, and let it go. Don’t stop.
When you are weak, then he is strong. Remember the greater the attack against
you, the greater Christ is in you, but you have to rely on his presence, his provision
and his power.
This week take a moment to write down what you are suffering from or struggling
with and place it in an envelope. On the outside, write, “God’s got this, and he is
transforming me.” Now when that challenge comes to mind remember to rely on
him.
Marinate on that.

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ABOUND IN HOPE! – A
Sermon on Romans 15:13
AUGUST 20, 2006 BY ADRIAN WARNOCK

4,286 COMMENTS

The following is notes from a sermon on hope. True hope is a

uniquely Christian thing – like faith and love. More recently I
have also posted about how hope that goes beyond a grave
makes a real difference to the way in which we grieve.
The audio of this message is now available to
download from my church’s website or by subscribing to our
podcast. If you are interested in a glimpse of the preparation
that lies behind a sermon like this, please see my post
from earlier in the week.

ABOUND IN HOPE!

 Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you
may abound in hope.”

WHERE DOES HOPE COME FROM?

 Psalm 39:7. “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope

is in you.”

 Ephesians 2:12. “. . . remember that you were at that time

separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world.”

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WHAT IS HOPE? JOY AND PEACE, NOT SORROW AND
STRESS!

 Proverbs 13:12. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a

desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

 Romans 8:23-25. “And not only the creation, but we

ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what
he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it
with patience.”
 Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all
things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.”
 1 Peter 3:15-16. “. . . but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord
as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone
who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
 1 Corinthians 15:19. “If in this life only we have hoped in
Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

HOW DO WE GET HOPE?

 1. By Believing Patiently.

o Hebrews 6:11-20. “And we desire each one of you to

show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of
hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but
imitators of those who through faith and patience
inherit the promises.”

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  2. By the Word.

 Romans 15:4. “. . . through the encouragement of the

Scriptures we might have hope.”

3. By the Holy Spirit. (5:13 itself)

HOW MUCH HOPE IS ENOUGH?

 Ephesians 3:20. “Now to him who is able to do far more

abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the
power at work within us …”

 WHAT DOES HOPE LOOK LIKE?

o 2 Corinthians 3:12. “Since we have such a hope, we are
very bold.”

WHEN ALL HOPE IS GONE

Hope is a word of optimism, and it defines what we are living for. In this sermon, Dr.
Stanley explores a biblical story of hopelessness and how Jesus can change our
hopeless perspective into joy we can only imagine. There is no such thing as “beyond
repair” for God. He has a purpose for each of us, and there is a reason for the trials we
face.

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10 Reasons to Hope (When All
Seems Hopeless)
FROM DAVID MURRAY FEB 04, 2013 CATEGORY: ARTICLES

When discouraging and depressing news threatens to flood

the nation, the church, and the soul, we need God’s help to lift
up our heads, hearts, and hands. Posts like this encourage us
not to fear. But once fear is cast out, we then have to build
positive Christian hope in its place, a beautiful virtue and life-
transforming grace that yields multiple benefits:
1. Hope moves us forwards: Christian hope is a realistic
expectation of and joyful longing for future good and glory
based upon the reliable word of God. The more we long for the
future, the less we will yearn for the past. Hope deletes regrets
and underlines expectation. It diminishes drag and
increases momentum.
2. Hope energizes the present: It is worth living today
because the eternal tomorrow is so much brighter. What’s
doomsday for most, is coronation day for us. What most
dread, we desire.
3. Hope lightens our darkness: Hope does not deny nor
remove the reality of dark and painful providences. However
it does shine a bright light into these valleys and points to the
sunrise at the end of them.

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4. Hope increases faith: Faith fuels hope, but hope also
fuels faith. As Hebrews 11 makes very clear, hope and faith are
very closely tied together, the one enlivening the other.
Without faith we cannot soar in hope, but without hope faith
will limp home. The greatest believers are the greatest
hopers…and vice versa.
5. Hope is infectious: Just as we can drag others down by
our recriminations and moping, so we can inspire and
motivate through our inspiring hoping. It not only encourages
other sagging Christians but it also impacts depressed
unbelievers who cannot but ask a reason for the hope they see
in us (1 Pet. 3:15).
6. Hope is healing: When I counsel depressed people, one
of the first things I do is try to give them hope. By definition,
depression is a sense of hopelessness. Things cannot and will
not get better. That’s why I want to give them the hope that in
the vast majority of cases, they will get better, there is a way
out, and there are things that they can do to help themselves
in their felt helplessness. That hope itself is a huge step
towards healing.
7. Hope is practical: Hope does not mean we just sit and
wait for Utopia to appear. Not at all! Hope motivates action.
When we hope for better days for the church, we serve the
church. When we hope for the conversion of our children, we
are motivated to share the Gospel with them. When we hope

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for God’s blessing on His Word, we listen to it much more
avidly. Hope produces action.
8. Hope purifies: Whatever persecution we experience in
this world, the day is coming when we will not be just called
sons of God, we will be like the Son of God. This is what
inspires and motivates the apostle to persevere to the end and
to persevere in holiness. “And everyone who has this hope in
Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:1-3).
9. Hope stabilizes in the storm: There are sixty-six
drawings of anchors in the catacombs, the caves and tunnels
that persecuted Christians hid in during the Roman
persecutions. Hope was their anchor during those dark and
stormy days (Heb. 6:19; 10:34). Like the anchor, hope grabs
what is out of sight. As one puritan put it: “The cable of faith
casts out the anchor of hope and lays hold of the steadfast
rock of God’s promises.”
10. Hope defends: Paul also depicts hope as a defensive
helmet (Eph. 6:17; 1 Thess. 5:8) that must not be taken off and
laid aside until the battle is over. The helmet also points us to
the area of greatest vulnerability and danger – our mind or
thoughts. That’s where Satan usually works to present reasons
to doubt and despair. And that’s why we need our minds daily
renewed by the power of hope.