Hope for Living
We all need hope. Hope is a necessity for living a fulfilling life. Without hope, we enter a state of hopelessness. Hopelessness leads to being discouraged and depressed, even to suicide. Therefore, we must find the hope that we need to navigate away from those things and to sail through life with the joy and peace of the Lord. Of course, this hope only comes from our relationship with the Lord.
David was a believer. He was not perfect, but he was a man of faith in God. After committing adultery and murder, he repented of his sins and was forgiven, but the son who was conceived died. (II Samuel 12:22,23) David shared with his servants the sources of his hope. He told them that he fasted and prayed for the child to be healed, because he knew that the Lord was gracious, and He might heal him. After the child died, he did not fast and pray anymore, because he could not bring him back, but he knew one day he would go to be with him. What a great example of hope for living!
We should all know that anything is possible with God. We should have steadfast faith in God because of His love, His wisdom, and His power, so that we know that we are never in a hopeless situation, no matter how hard life becomes. We should always know that God is gracious, and He can and will rescue us when it is in His will, and even if He doesn't rescue us, He will walk with us through the difficult times, giving us His strength and guidance.
Then, when we lose loved ones, or we come to the end of our lives on earth, we should have the sure hope of eternal life in heaven, like David did. We should make sure we have the assurance of our salvation by grace through faith in Jesus. Then, we should know that He went to prepare a place for us and for all who have trusted in Him. That place is heaven, the most wonderful perfect place for us to live forever with Him and all believers. That sure hope of eternal life should be with us through grief and sickness, so that we always know God is taking care of us.
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Tomorrow, I intend to read II Samuel 13-15.