Hope When You Feel It Has Gone

June 6, 2004 | Link To Us | Index | This sermon is for your spiritual edification and to spread a little hope and cheer. Hebrew 11:32-40

So many times in life we can be going along and our reality can be shattered by one mean person that is so nice to others and can be seen as this wonderful person by so many others but is like a devil to us. Like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Everybody else it would seem would look at that person and would never believe how badly that person hurt you. They would only see that person as good.

It makes you wonder about the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide story. You know, the one about how great a person Dr. Jekyll was. But then he became Mr. Hyde. This evil person who caused only strife in other people's lives. But yet you feel that person in your life is only Mr. Hyde for you and you don't know why. Was it something you did? Are you paying for something that you did in your past that you feel you deserved the strife you are feeling right now from this person?

Now I am not saying that all of you who are reading this sermon have ever had somebody like that in your life. The type of person who if you said they made your life a living hell, you would be making an extreme understatement. And if you haven't then you can consider yourself lucky. You can feel good in the notion that there isn't somebody like that in your life.

But if you have had a person like that in your life. A person who tried everything in their power to destroy your confidence in every way, then you are not alone. There are others who have felt this way. You felt like somebody thrust their fist into your heart and pulled your heart out and saw your heart strings sway in a gentle breeze.

It was times like this that you felt that you were being punished by some invisible force for a past indifference or an old trick you may have played on an unfortunate soul that you have since forgotten about. It was a time when you felt that there was no salvation for your weary bones and that your mind was flattened by the bowling ball of life on it's way to making a strike with total indifference to whatever it knocked down on the way to its goal.

But if you are presently feeling that way and there is that person who has caused so much evil in your life, do not despair. You may feel like you are being savagely stabbed again and again even though you can't possibly understand what you did to deserve this kind of behavior, then do not feel alone, because that is probably the way Jesus Christ felt like when He was carrying that old wooden cross down the street with people stoning Him repeatedly and laughing at Him and He probably felt temporarily bereft of hope because of His human nature.

But somehow He knew that His heavenly father was there for His salvation. He knew that God was there to pick up what was left of Him and to glorify His existence. He knew that no matter how bad a hand that life had dealt Him, He was soon to go to a place where ultimate peace was to be felt. An overwhelming peace that was and is not to to be outdone by any good feeling here on earth.

So if you are dealing with a person on earth that is making or has made your life a shear hell, do not despair, there is salvation. There is peace by making God a part of your life. You can make a difference in somebody else's life no matter how badly that evil person may have destroyed your life. You can feel good in the knowledge that God is there for you now to give you rest from the storms of life. He can make a difference in your life that will surpass all others.

Just think of the ultimate love and you will begin to start to think about what kind of an impact God can have on your life. You may feel like some broken down ship that has been set a drift on a glassy ocean a million miles away from any semblance of land. You may feel like you are in a vast jungle of trees cutting off your circulation with the world in the vines, casting a shadow of never-ending darkness. You may even feel like you are falling into an ever-darkening abyss that just seems to go down forever and ever. But you can make it stop. You can feel better. You can learn to pick yourself off and brush off the evil that somehow has permeated your life and feel the warmth and love that only God can give.

You know we all feel, from time to time, so stressed out and we want to be taken away into a land of peace and tranquility. A place like Kauai or some place similar where the air is clean and the environment is like heaven because their is no pollution, or at least very little of it and the daily rain seems to rejuvenate you and the flowers of the field yield their fragrance to your passing glance. You can see the rainbow that you have always wanted to see. And you can see all that when you come to a place that all who who believe in God can go when they die. It is heaven.

Not the place of lore where all your fantasies come true. But a place where peace is strong and your battle with the darkness here on earth has stopped. You can be free in the knowledge, while you are there, that God will make you feel safe and loved and cared for.

But does that mean that we can't feel at least a piece of that during our stay here on earth? It doesn't. It only means that we can look forward to a better place if we shall only believe in God and follow His ways.

You are not alone in your lack of earthly tranquility. There are others that hurt just as much as you do. That may not be very comforting, but realize that we are only here for but a fleeting moment in the very fabric of time. We can look forward to being with God and feel that peace. It makes you realize that maybe the problems that are weighting you down right now on this planet aren't so bad and that if only you endure for a little while compared to eternity you will find the peace that you have searched your whole life for.

But make sure that you believe in God and that you follow His ways. Don't give into the temptations that fill your life every day. Don't be mislead from the devil who tries to catch you in his snare many times. Instead, give your heart to God and see where it takes you. Just let it happen and you will even find a peace here on earth. So be on the lookout for His love. If He knocks on the door to your heart let Him in. Give into His love for you. Give in to what He can do for you. Let God be a part of your life, because an eternity of peace will make all this that we have had to endure hereon earth well worth it.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to realize the light of your love is always there and that I can ask for it anytime I want. Give me your love and guide me in the coming week to do the right things and to help others who might need me to help them in their times of need. And guide me on the righteous path always. We thank you Lord for all your many blessings. Amen.

Benediction: Now, Lord, Bless us in our daily lives. Help us to smell the roses whenever possible, to shine our light on those less fortunate than us, and lead us in the path we should go. For you are the light that keeps our path well lit. Help us to follow it, until we meet you, in a land where milk and honey abound, a place where our most wonderful dreams are fulfilled. Amen.

Hi, my name is Bryan, a messenger of hope who would love to hear from you. God Bless.

© 2004 Bryan Hill