Your Story Isn't Finished

Finding a hope that rests in God

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God.”

Psalm 42:11, KJV

Sometimes hope feels natural.

Other times, hope feels almost impossible.

Maybe something you've prayed about hasn't changed.

Maybe you've been disappointed so many times that you're afraid to expect anything good.

Maybe life simply doesn't look the way you thought it would by now.

People often say, “Just stay positive.”

But biblical hope is bigger than positive thinking.

Christian hope does not say:

Everything will happen exactly the way I want.

It says:

Whatever happens, God is still God, God is still working, and my story is not finished.

Hope Is Not Denial

Hope doesn't require pretending everything is okay.

The Bible is full of people who experienced enormous difficulties.

David was afraid.

Job suffered devastating loss.

Jeremiah wept.

Paul experienced imprisonment, rejection, hardship, and pain.

Even Jesus told His disciples that they would experience trouble.

Christianity isn't built on the promise of a trouble-free life.

It is built around a God who enters our trouble.

Put Your Hope in Something That Cannot Collapse

Many good things give us encouragement.

Jobs.

Relationships.

Health.

Savings.

Plans.

Dreams.

But all of them can change.

If our entire hope rests on circumstances remaining exactly as we want them, our hope will always be fragile.

Psalm 42 gives a different direction:

Hope thou in God.”

Not simply:

Hope the situation improves.

Hope people don't disappoint you.

Hope the economy gets better.

Hope nothing goes wrong.

Hope in God.

Circumstances change.

God's character does not.

God May Be Working Where You Cannot See Him

A seed beneath the ground looks like nothing is happening.

Yet beneath the surface, something may already be growing.

Life can be like that.

We usually judge God's activity by what we can see today.

But today is only one page.

There may be relationships God is preparing.

Lessons you are learning.

Doors that haven't opened yet.

People you haven't met.

Strength developing in you that you don't recognize yet.

Answers that are still unfolding.

You don't need to pretend you know what God is doing.

Sometimes faith simply says:

"I cannot see what God is doing, but I refuse to believe that what I see today is all there is".

Jesus Is the Foundation of Christian Hope

Ultimately, Christian hope rests on Jesus.

His crucifixion looked like defeat.

Three days later, the story looked very different.

That doesn't mean every painful circumstance will suddenly reverse in three days.

It means Christians have a reason to believe that God can bring life where we see death, redemption where we see loss, and purpose where we see only pain.

The empty tomb tells us never to judge God's final answer from the darkest moment of the story.

What If Your Hope Is Almost Gone?

Then start small.

You don't have to manufacture a powerful feeling.

You can pray:

“God, I want to hope again.”

Read one Psalm.

Talk to someone who loves God and loves you.

Remember one time God carried you through something you thought you wouldn't survive.

Take one step toward Him.

Hope can begin as quietly as that.

There Is More to the Story

You may be standing in a chapter you would never have chosen.

This chapter may contain grief.

Fear.

Financial trouble.

Family problems.

Loneliness.

Disappointment.

Questions.

But don't mistake a difficult chapter for the ending.

God is still present.

God is still working.

God is still worthy of your trust.

And as long as God is writing the story, there is reason to hope.

A Prayer

Father, sometimes hope is difficult.

I look at what is happening around me and I don't understand what You are doing.

Help me not to build my hope only on circumstances changing.

Teach me to place my hope in You.

When I cannot see Your hand, help me trust Your heart.

Remind me that today's chapter is not necessarily the end of the story.

Give me courage for today and hope for tomorrow.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

**Scripture quotations:** King James Version, public domain.

**Background reading:** The distinction between optimism and a hope grounded in God's continuing work was informed in part by Earl Palmer's *Hope Now*, originally published by The High Calling / Theology of Work Project. This article is newly written and does not reproduce that source text.