The Bible encourages us to lay hold of the hope that is within us. However, there are times when the difficulties that face us seem so overwhelming it’s not enough to know I could find it if I only would. We need to know it finds us – and it does. Open your Bible for a moment to Romans 8:26 and underline that passage. It tells us when we don’t know how to pray for ourselves, the Spirit Himself prays for us with groanings too deep for words. This means God understands us and has resources for us that cannot be explained in human words.
All of you who have followed Christ for any length of time have had this experience, perhaps without knowing exactly what it was. It’s the kind of thing that happens when you come to the church on Sunday morning and you are so hopeless you don’t even want to come. Perhaps you skipped Sunday school because you didn’t want to have to look somebody in the face and admit you are just beat. During a song, sermon, or prayer, something jumps all over you, and you are aware God is ministering to you. Perhaps you do go to Sunday school, and you’re sitting quietly hoping the look on your face won’t be interpreted correctly. Out of the blue, someone begins talking about what’s going on in their lives, and you realize all of a sudden they’re talking about you. They talk about what God has done in their lives, and you realize God is doing that in you. All of a sudden, hope has come to find you. I’m glad God can be found and that when I draw near to Him, He draws near to me. I’m also glad when I’ve lost the strength and the faith to draw near to Him, He sees my helplessness and sympathizes with it and draws near to me, giving hope where hopelessness had reigned.
God bless you as you develop the disciplines that find hope. God bless you even more as you trust with all your heart the God who gives hope to those who have given themselves to Him.

