Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith hangs on the suspension cords of ‘hope’. Hopelessness will suck the spiritual energy and kill faith. Hope is an expectation, desire or aspiration for a particular thing to happen. If hope is absent, then the substance that forms as the substratum of faith will vanish. Various factors shake the foundation of faith but hope is the mortar, cement and bricks that build our faith. Hope gives us the buoyancy to wade through tough times and increases our faith.
The young man Gideon lived in Israel in 1169 BC. The Hebrew meaning of the name Gideon is ‘hewer’ or ‘great warrior’, but we find him hiding in the winepress as he was terrorized by the Midianites who raided the land of Israel. The Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the land, ruined their crops and spared no living thing. The enemies came like a swarm of locusts and ransacked the country. The oppressed Israelites hid themselves in caves and clefts. All that Gideon witnessed was oppression, repression and deprivation. Israel had rebelled against the Lord and they did evil by following other gods; hence they lost the protection and favour of God. Witnessing subjugation, poverty and tyranny all around him, Gideon’s hope on the Almighty God had depleted. Gideon had a divine visitation by an angel to reignite hope and rebuild his faith before he could be used by God to overturn the indomitable enemies.
Gideon asked the angel who came to commission him as the commander of Israel, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” (Judges 6:13). The same question reverberates among our current day generation who has not tasted the goodness of God. “Where is the gracious God when the world is suffering from poverty, pandemic and pandemonium?”
Safeguard your hope:
1. Bad-Report: ‘The Time of Israel’ back in Gideon’s days would have only reported foray, assault, looting and incursion of the merciless enemies. When BBC, Fox News and CNN only talk about the collapse in the stock market, impending recession and drop in currency, hope for survival is shaken. However, when we have the favour of God, we will thrive, not just survive even in recession.
2. Bad-Experience: Israel was oppressed by the Midianites for seven years. One bad defeat after another had sucked away all their hope. Let bad, dreadful and shocking experiences draw us closer to the Lord and not push us away from Him. Hopelessness will hide the omnipotence of our heavenly Father.
3. Belabor: Midian impoverished the Israelites by repeated attacks. Repetitive assaults can weaken our hope. Friction at home, rough work environment and raspy relationships can belabor us emotionally and spiritually. Praise, don’t allow stress to belabour and devour hope.
Hope is the cord that holds our faith intact. Never let hopelessness grip your heart. God is always faithful.
2 Timothy 2:13 If we are not faithful, he remains faithful.
Prayer: Father God, during challenging times, help me to strengthen the cords of hope that hold my faith. Amen.
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