Hope thou in God; For I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Ps 42:11

There are times in life when things are going well that we become optimistic and even hopeful. Praises and thanksgivings to God for His goodness seem to come more easily during these times. But what about times when things seem dreary, difficult, doubtful, dark, and light for the future is dim? What about the times when our emotions are downcast and disturbed? God seems so far away and the memory of former days in God’s presence seems so distant, almost like a fantasy. The scripture passage reminds us that “hope…in God” is a matter of faith, not feeling. Emotionally, the Psalmist felt he was alone and abandoned from God so that he cried out “Why have You forgotten me?” (Ps 42:9). He was honest about his feelings, but he looked beyond them to his faith and declared to himself, “Hope in God!” This is a struggle that we deal with at times. We wrestle to maintain hope in the Lord. Friend, I can assure you that hoping in God does not come naturally in difficult circumstances. There are plenty of emotional obstacles that so can easily overwhelm us when we face problems and sorrows, and even more so when other people question God’s existence or His goodness (Ps 42:3). The Psalmist knew that his downcast and disquieted spirit needed to be reminded of God’s faithfulness. His hope was not just a wish that his situation would change for the better, but a confident expectation in the faithfulness of God (Lam 3:23) and that God would save him. That’s the essence of biblical hope. A confident expectation that God will intervene. Hope in God is founded on the word of God, what the Bible says about God. Hope in God is knowing what the Bible says about God. And finally, hope in God is believing what the Bible says about God and trusting what you know through faith. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not see” (Heb 11:1). The substance of faith is the word of God. And “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). Dear friend, read the word of God, meditate, and think on the things that you read, and invite the Spirit of God to transform your thinking from feelings to faith. Your faith will grow and your hope in God will increase so as to proclaim, “the LORD is my portion…therefore will I hope in Him” (Lam 3:24). When troubles come and feelings become excited, “hope thou in God…who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Father thank You for Your love and the everlasting faithfulness of Your word. In the blessed Name of Jesus. Amen.