Hope(less)
Finding Strength When Nothing Seems to Get Better
When It Feels Like Nothing Is Getting Better
I know I’m not the only one fighting this feeling right now—this sense that nothing is getting better… in fact, it’s only getting worse.
Where have I heard that before?
“And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,”
Mark 5:26 (KJV)
That’s the story of the woman with the issue of blood. She was sick—and only getting worse. But then she reached out for Jesus. In a crowded place, she pushed through and grabbed the hem of His garment.
Jesus turned around and asked, “Who touched me?” because He felt power go out of Him.
She was healed in that moment. What originally looked hopeless was instantly restored with just one touch from Jesus.
But What About My Life?
That all sounds good. Her faith was incredible.
But what about me?
What about now—when I feel like I don’t even know what to pray for, much less how to have great faith?
I came to Jesus one morning, crumbled in a mess, and asked Him:
“Why do I feel hopeless?”
His response caught me off guard:
“Good. Hope less.”
I know, I know—this doesn’t sound like a faith-filled answer. But hear me out.
David felt the same way I did. In Psalm 43, he writes out what looks like my exact thoughts:
“Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?
Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.”
Psalm 43:1–4 (NIV)
Life was falling apart around him. Real enemies. Real danger. Real emotional pain. And no visible way out.
When There Is No Foreseeable Solution
Sound familiar?
That’s what makes us feel hopeless—when we see no foreseeable solution. When we can’t find the light at the end of the tunnel, discouragement creeps in.
But here’s the good news. David doesn’t stop there. He continues:
“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.”
Psalm 43:5 (NIV)Redirecting Our Hope
Put your hope in God.
David lists every reason to feel discouraged… and then tells his own soul, “Why are you downcast?”
There are plenty of reasons to be afraid, dismayed, and overwhelmed. But there’s a simple shift that changes everything.
Hope less in your surroundings.
Hope less in your own plans.
Hope less in your solutions.
Hope less in your understanding.
Hope less in your expectations.
And instead, put all your hope in God.
Because when we begin to feel hopeless, it’s not a sign that hope is gone. It’s a sign that we need to redirect our hope.
God doesn’t fail. He’s a safe place to anchor our trust. He is strong. He is our Champion. He has already overcome every opposition—every dark situation.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NIV)
In that moment, I finally understood what God was saying.
These trials—the heaviness, the uncertainty, the pain—they’re not here to destroy us.
They’re here to purify our hope.
To put Jesus back in His rightful place:
✦ My Provider
✦ My Healer
✦ My Safe Place
✦ My Peace
✦ My Joy
✦ My Everything
So throw everything else out.
Don’t put your hope in the government, or America, or doctors, or relationships, or jobs, or yourself.
Put your hope in God.
“Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.”
Psalm 20:6–8 (NIV)Remember- Eternity is long- live like it!