Remember Jesus: When You Lose Hope

Text: Romans 15:12-13

Introduction

We use the word “hope” a lot. Do we really know what it means? 

Biblically, hope describes an enduring, settled confidence in the promises of God – even while we’re still waiting for the ultimate fulfillment of those promises. Hope is a confident expectation of what God has promised because God has promised

Biblical hope is a reality, not a feeling. But that doesn’t stop us from feeling hopeless sometimes.

Hope is easy to lose: (Stages according to Psychology) 

• Discontentment 
• Isolation
• Negativity
• Desperation
• Resignation

Christmas highlights our hopelessness. But it is an invitation to reaffirm hope. Part of the problem with hopelessness is we get skeptical of anything that promises hope. All we hear is: “This will make it better.” But, hope isn’t about making it better. Hope is seeing the purpose and potential of all things, good or bad, to work for our good and God’s glory.

To make it all possible and to prove the point, God sent His Son. 

Christmas gives us the chance to go from hopeless to hopeful because of Jesus. 

How Remembering Jesus Brings Us Hope 

The reason we can run to Him in our hopelessness is because of how He answers our deepest need. 

1| God Proves Himself Faithful in Jesus.

The world needed something to anchor into. Something that wouldn’t change even though everything else did. His answer: a promise. 

Key Points: 

• God keeps His promises. 
• God promise is always tied to His purpose.
• Jesus is the proof of God’s faithfulness and is the foundation upon which we can build our lives.

Summary: God has proven Himself faithful. He provides us with an unshakable hope in Jesus. The hope Jesus offers us is available to all. The hope is a King who overrules anything that would destroy us – 2 Corinthians 4:8-9. 

2| Hope is Powered by Belief in Jesus. 

Often, hopelessness is a faith issue. We stop believing that God is going to be victorious. 

This is why Satan attacks our faith. If he can blind us to God’s promise, he’ll separate us from God’s power. 

Key Points: 

• Any faith other than in Jesus is a false hope. 
• Hope, anchored in faith, brings joy and peace in every situation. 
• Belief unlocks trust. Trust opens the door to hope. 

Summary: One day we will be saved from the very presence of sin and evil – their power and effect can never touch us again. We won’t have to be victorious anymore because victory will be complete. 

3| God Gives Hope when We Need Help.

We all find it hard to hope sometimes. 

We abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The “power of the Spirit” isn’t just talking about His strength. It carries the idea of controlling influence. How much are we letting Him teach us? 

Key Points:

• The Holy Spirit magnifies Jesus. He reminds us that we have hope – if we’ll listen. 
• The Spirit reminds us of and anchors us in God’s promises. 
• The Spirit connects God’s power and our need. 
• Sometimes His strength is endurance and patience, which produces joy – Colossians 1:11. 

Summary: Hope is committing to a process, not just an outcome. Hope is ultimately a gift of the Spirit that we receive from God when we trust in Jesus – and ask for the help. When we surrender to God’s plan and learn to sit at His feet to learn, we will abound in hope. 

Conclusion

To restore our hope: remember Jesus. He is the reason for and strength of our hope in God. Jesus is the proof that God is near and still at work. 

To Hope Again: 

• Admit that you need Jesus. 
• Change your focus and look for God’s work in your situation. 
• Ask: what has God promised in my situation? Who else has struggled with sometime similar? How can Jesus redeem this situation for His glory? 
• Pray for guidance and strength. Our focus in every trial is to grow and identify more with Jesus. 

Consider: If you’re losing hope or can’t find Jesus in the storm, ask. Get help. If they reach out to you, your job is not to make them feel better. It’s to get them to look for Jesus. The context of this entire passage is on unity and why we can have it.  It becomes a source and strength of our hope.