Finding Hope
Psalm 137:1–4 (NKJV)
1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion. 2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it. 3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?
Have you ever read a more hopeless passage?
Judah (Jerusalem) falls to the Babylonian army and the people are deported for 70 years
Our questions today:
How is your hope?
How do you know your hope is depleted?
You're not getting in your steps
Do you have a watch or something that reminds you to move?
I need one of those spiritually
"By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down"
Here's how I know I need a moment spent with Jesus - I find myself wanting to "sit down" spiritually
It's being spiritually depleted
We are Spiritual beings - we cannot continually give out without having input
You've got more feels than faith
we wept when we remembered Zion
When you lose hope, it is easy to forget where you're going and focus on what has been.
If you have more stories about what God HAS DONE than you do about what God is GOING TO DO
You've given up your giftings
"We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst"
What we see here is that they hung up the callings and just had a moment of grief
The fruit of the Spirit is: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness & self-control
Operating in your calling is part of your expression of worship
Job - do you remember him? EVERYTHING went wrong
He responds this way:
Job 14:7–9 (ESV)
7 “For there is hope for a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease.
8 Though its root grow old in the earth, and its stump die in the soil,
9 yet at the scent of water it will bud and put out branches like a young plant.
What Job is saying:
Even when you don't feel hopeful, you're not hopeless
Even when we read Psalm 137, and it feels like the most hopeless thing you've ever read
God doesn't leave us without hope!
We turn the page and go into Psalm 138:
Psalm 138:2–3 (NKJV)
2 I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your lovingkindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name. 3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.
That's why David told us:
Psalm 30:5 (NKJV)
5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.
David said:
3 In the day when I cried out, You answered me, And made me bold with strength in my soul.
You may have lost your motivation, your vision, and your productivity
BUT YOU'VE NOT LOST YOUR VOICE
