Hope…It’s what’s for dinner….

Ever have days where life just sucks? Ever have days when the circumstances of life, both the things you have control over and the things you don’t, just leave you feeling like you’ve been caught in a double-wide during a class 4 hurricane? The past few weeks have been that for me, and I know they’ve been that way for some of you, too.

Luckily, there’s hope.

I love the word hope. Somehow just hearing it changes my spirit. It’s like water after a 5K run (so I’ve been told….I’ve never actually seen a 5K…much less run one…although I do enjoy a good glass of water every now and again.)…a hot bath after a long day working outside…a bowl of chili and a roaring fire on a cold, rainy, winter night. Hope is what keeps you going when everything is set against you.

Read Psalm 142 . I’ll wait here while you read it. :::whistling:::

Back? Ok.

David is stuck. David is stuck in a situation that you and I would consider desperate. King Saul has gone ballistic yet again and he has forced David to flee first to Gath (remember Goliath the Phillistine? He was from Gath.), then to the cave of Adullam. “Leaving our horses in charge of some Arabs, and taking one for our guide, we started for the cave now known as Mughâret Khureitûn, which is believed to be the cave Adullam, having a fearful gorge below, gigantic cliffs above, and the path winding along a narrow shelf of the rock. At length, from a great rock hanging on the edge of the shelf, we entered by a long leap a low window which opened into the perpendicular face of the cliff. We were then within the traditional hold of David, and, creeping half doubled through a narrow crevice for a few rods, we stood beneath the dark vault of the first grand chamber of this mysterious and oppressive cavern, 1 Samuel 22:1-2 2 Samuel 23:13-17. Our whole collection of lights did little more than make the damp darkness visible. After groping about as long as we had time to spare, we returned to the light of day, fully convinced that, with David and his lion hearted followers inside, all the strength of Israel under Saul could not have forced an entrance — would not have even attempted it.” Reading William H. Thompson’s descriptions of David’s surroundings during this time really brings home the bleakness of David’s circumstances.

Saul would have done anything to kill David, and had tried many things. Plus, David made bad choices, went to pagan kings, and was suffering the consequences. But in spite of everything, David remembered his Hope. Psalm 142:5 says: “I cry out, GOD, call out: “You’re my last chance, my only hope for life!’”

We don’t have to be perfect to come to God, or to receive His love. Regardless of what anyone tells you, you don’t have to achieve certain things to come to God. Friends and family may require you to jump through hoops to earn their love, or tell you that you’re not good enough because you’ve screwed up too many times. God never does, because God is our hope. He is our strong tower in time of trouble. He may not fix the circumstances in your life, but He fixes your heart so that you and He, together, can overcome.

If you’ve messed up, you’ve messed up. There’s nothing that can be done about it now, except to admit that you’ve messed up.

Maybe your immediate circumstances have you thinking there is no hope. Then it’s time to cry out to God, “You’re my last chance, my only hope for life!”

He offers hope in each situation of our lives. Look to Him for your hope, and live!