"Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD." (Ps.27v1)1. For Christians there is always hope
Normally, when people say, "cheer up," or "take heart," they then say, "It's not as bad as you think!" But sometimes it is. What do we do then?
Do we just pick up our chin, and put our best foot forward? NO. Sometimes life is hopeless... but not for a child of God...
2. There is always hope in our LORD
Sometimes there is literally nothing in our circumstances to offer any hope. Sometimes there may be glimmers of hope. But in either case, we do not find our hope in our circumstances.
We find them in our LORD:
(a) He is Love - his tender arms are with us in trials. And all our trials are sent by our Father who loves us.
(b) He is Wisdom - he makes no mistakes. He is never caught out. He knows what is for our best.
(c) He is Sovereign - he rules the universe for his glory and for the good of his children, the church. Nothing happens to us outside of God's will.
(d) He is Gracious - loving us when we deserve his wrath. We have no hope of God answering our cries simply because we "try our best" to please him. We have nothing to plead but his grace.
3. So please, please... wait for him
What else can we do? He will raise us up in his time.
And his final proof is Calvary.
