Day 1 of 31 Days of Hope-filled Living
“He will not forget the needs of the poor. One day the needy will be remembered, and their hopes will not be forever dashed in disappointment.”
Psalm 9:18
God remembers those in need. Though they might feel disappointed today, their hopes will one day come to reality.
It’s common and easy to think thoughts like this: Why don’t I have what I want and need? If God loves me, why doesn’t He help me? Has He forgotten about me? I’ve lost hope, and I feel like it’s been dashed. Like I’ve been dashed with a wrecking ball of disappointment.
These thoughts are not unique, though your situation and feelings are, to you. People have had thoughts like these since Bible times, as evident by the emotion-and-vulnerability-filled book of Psalms. If people didn’t think this way back then, God wouldn’t have had to admonish them about His faithfulness. Yes, humanity faces poverty and lack, and that often causes us to wonder if a loving, providing God has forgotten about us. That wondering thought is not new, and if you’ve ever felt that way, or if you’re feeling it now, my Dear, you are not alone.
A few relationships with relatives and friends feel hopeless to me lately. This one never calls, that one is refusing cancer treatment, this one is isolating because of depression and emotional distress, that one is chronically ill and can’t visit during a pandemic. My hope is fading for these situations to improve, for these relationships to be restored. Have you ever been there? Me too.
The word dashed in this verse is the Hebrew word abad, which means to perish or die. Have you ever felt like your hope was dead, lifeless, or too far gone? The picture this verse is painting is that for the poor and needy whose hope has stopped living, there is a resurrection of that hope on the way.
Your hope will breathe again, Dear One.
Let God resuscitate that which has been dashed or killed in you. His love and goodness is surely on the way.
Hope waits for a future expectation of goodness, which is currently not here. One day, someday, the needy will be remembered, and their hopes will not forever be dashed. When will the day come that what you hope for comes to pass? When you’re truly ready and when God deems best, not only according to your desires, but according to what’s best for you and your community as well. In the meantime of this waiting, your hope is what holds you, like a rope, connecting this moment to that.
Hope How-to: Has some part of your hope been dashed? Take about 15 minutes and journal about any hopes that seem dead, and what effects have resulted. Include in your writing any requests you’re ready to make for God to resurrect those hopes, renewed by your faith in Him and your willingness to surrender to His plan. Reflect on what you’ve written and then pray to your father about these matters.
Prayer: Jesus, I pray for my Reader today and ask that You revive the hope that has been dashed. Please offer her a fresh perspective and renew her patience to wait on You and Your timing. Holy Spirit, bring your power upon her in a tangible way so that in all of the places she has felt poor and needy, she can trust that Your provision on the way, and that You will become a sustaining cord of hope, holding her and drawing her from this day until that future day when the object of her hope becomes her reality. For the gifts she can’t yet see or hold, revive her hope and give her fresh grace and joy today as she waits on You. Thank you, Father, Amen
I hope (see what I did there) that you’ve benefited from these words, Dear Reader. If so, I’d be delighted to send you some more! Just go ahead and slip your email into the subscribe box so that you can catch all the hope coming at you from my Nest.
Love,