For any of you who have any experience planting a garden, it can be very hard work. A lot is involved in getting the soil ready, planting seed, and properly caring for your garden. However, the benefits are often worth the time and effort it takes to produce them.
In the midst of this entire process, a somewhat unnerving time arises after the garden plot is selected. It comes after the soil is tilled up and the fertilizer is thrown in. It comes after the soil is tilled again to mix the fertilizer in well. It comes after the beds are made and the sections of the garden are divided. What I’m referring to is the time in which the seeds are planted.
Looking at the tiny seeds and putting them into the ground is a time when competing thoughts begin to arise. As we look at the seeds, I’m sure some of us have thought, “Oh boy, here we go,” “Is this little thing really going to grow?”, “I sure hope this works.” Then come the thoughts of hope. We certainly do hope it’s all going to work out when we plant those seeds, and as a result we persevere and continue to plant.
But what if all hope was lost? Would we still plant the seeds? If our crops hadn’t grown for the last one, two, three, five, or even ten years, would we be hopeful enough to plant? Scripture says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (English Standard Version, Prov. 13:12). After a while, it can be hard to have the strength to continue.
In biblical counseling, one of the most important elements to promote in the counselee is that of hope. The counselor realizes that without it, his counselee will not accomplish much. Often times we fizzle out in fighting the good fight of the faith because for one reason or another we have lost hope that victory can be won in a certain area of our lives.
During these times we find ourselves committing the same sins over and over with no power and strength to get the upper hand. We are defeated before the battle even starts. How do we expect to win the fight when it comes if we have no hope of victory?
What’s my problem?
Somewhere along the way, we started giving into thoughts of hopelessness. Over time, these seeds have grown, and we have reaped a harvest. This harvest is also filled with the seeds of taking matters into our own hands instead of properly giving them to God.
Sometimes when we begin to lose hope, it is because we are not hoping in the right thing. We can seemingly be hoping in something good, but that very thing can become in our lives a weapon of destruction.
We can hope that someone would be kind to us. We can hope that someone would respect us. We can hope that someone would come to know the Lord. We can hope for a certain President to be elected. We can hope that we would find a job. We can hope that we would be able to pay all our bills on time.
We can hope that our roof wouldn’t spring a leak. We can hope that we wouldn’t get sick. We can hope that the car wouldn’t break down. We can hope, we can hope, we can hope.
That list doesn’t look like a bad one. The things that we would hope for on it are actually pretty good things really. The problem is that when our hope is found in them and the circumstances don’t go our way, it begins to cripple us. When the direction of our lives runs contrary to our hope, we find ourselves breaking down.
This is vital to our understanding concerning our hope. We all have hope. But misplaced hope is dangerous. It is not a minor matter. When we hope that someone would be somewhere when they tell us they will be and they are 30 minutes late, we can see what begins to happen to us.
For some of us, we may find ourselves getting angry and annoyed. How about if we find ourselves hoping that someone will treat us with respect or be kind to us? This does not sound bad, and in one sense it is not. But what begins to happen to us if our hope is too strong? We can become frustrated and bitter.
I say that to say this: misplaced hope is a leading cause of hopelessness. Often we are not hoping in the right thing.
How to hope again
David paints a great picture for us concerning how to have a properly placed hope. He spoke frequently of having a hope that is found in God (Ps. 39:7, 42:5). This involves a deeply rooted expectation and confidence in God. It is being patient for Him to act and His good will to be performed. It is closely connected with faith in Hebrews 11 and is even part of the definition found there.
Begin to plant tiny seeds again. Tiny seeds of hope. The next time you find yourself losing hope, ask yourself, “Is my hope misguided?”
A great way to do this is by asking yourself, “What am I focusing on? Am I focusing on God or my circumstances?” Be careful here because we can be deceived easily into thinking we are focusing on God when we really are focusing on our circumstances. We can pray to God and talk to God about it and think we are focusing on God, but really we don’t want to let whatever it is go and trust in Him.
Leave the matter with God, and watch these seeds of hope that you plant begin to flourish. Often times our situations may not change, but God pours out His grace and fills our hearts with joy as He gives us the strength to endure.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You that You have given me hope. Give me a greater hope and help me to continue to find my hope in You. Help me to trust in You more each day and not try to take matters into my own hands. You are worthy of my hope, and You know better than I do how to work in my life and turn my circumstances into something good. In Jesus’ name, Amen.