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Hope

Feeling that my deepest desire will be realized and that events will turn out for the best.

Devotional Thought

Read 1 Samuel 17:1-53.

Someone wisely said, "You can live forty days without food, five days without water and five minutes without air…but you can't live one second without hope." The army of Israel had lost all hope while in battle against the Philistines. Goliath daily taunted them, driving them further into despair. When David arrived on the scene, he was appalled at the attitude of his brothers and King Saul. David had hope in the Lord which gave him courage to take on the great giant. He proclaims in verses 45-47 that God would be victorious and what David believed happened. When confronted with a Goliath-sized problem, which way do you respond: "He's too big to hit," or like David, "He's too big to miss."

God is good to us. He restores hope in hopeless situations and it is He who gives hope as we face the future. While some put their hope in visible and tangible things, God tells us to place our hope and trust in Him alone. God is at work in ways far beyond our power to comprehend.

I get amused in listening to people talk about hope. When good things happen, they claim it was a coincidence or good luck. When things go wrong, it was fate or bad luck. When will people learn that God is in charge of all? Everything that occurs has been sifted through the Father's hands before it reaches us. He's in total and complete control. When you're in the middle of a crisis, where is your hope?

In 1981, Mount St. Helens erupted. A news reporter was near the crater when the mountain suddenly rumbled to life, spewing steam and ash miles into the air. The reporter literally ran for his life. With the camera rolling and the mike on, we got a vivid description of his personal nightmare. The pictures were blurred and murky, but his voice was something else. He breathed deeply, sobbed several times, panted and spoke directly to God. No formality, no cliches-just the despairing cry of a man in crisis. Words like, "Oh, God, oh, my God…help! Help!!…Oh, Lord God, get me through. God, I need you, please help me; I don't know where I am"-more sobbing, more rapid breathing, spitting, gagging, coughing, panting-"It's so hot, so dark, help me, God! Please, please, please, please…oh, God!!" There's nothing to compare with crisis when it comes to finding out the otherwise hidden truth of the soul. Where is your hope?