Connecting During DeploymentSample

When Hope is Gone

Have you ever felt hopeless? Are you frustrated over the feeling that you are losing control of everything that is happening in your life? Are you worried about finances or your family? Are you concerned about your deployment?

We need a good dose of hope in our lives. Hope keeps us going. It’s the fuel in our tanks we must not allow to go empty during the months ahead. 

But what is our hope in?

Read Psalm 43:5. “Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.” It’s as if the psalmist was saying, “Stop! Hope in God!” 

I lose hope when I have forgotten one or more of these five truths:

God’s presence. When we think God has somehow lost track of us, we can lose hope. That is the perfect time to read Psalm 139:7-12. God knows where you are and what you are doing—even (especially) during deployment!

God’s perspective. When we lose the ability to see that which is unseen—how God is working in and through the current situation—we can lose hope. Paul describes a Christian’s perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18  . . . deployments will end . . . and our life on earth will end. But love and eternal life with God never fails.

God’s power. When we forget God’s power, we can lose hope. It’s so easy to forget the things that our powerful God has done for us in the past. In 1 Samuel 17:37 we read David’s recollection of God’s favor as he prepared himself to fight Goliath. Remember God’s powerful faithfulness!

God’s provision. When we try to project our strength for today into the unknown of tomorrow, we can lose hope. Remember the Manna Principle—God’s provision of grace and strength, like manna in the desert, is available when it is needed, and not before. Read Lamentations 3:22-23.

God’s promises. When we forget that God is faithful, we can lose hope. Read Isaiah 41:10, and then read Psalm 145:13. He is faithful, and because of that we have hope.

Remember the words of Romans 5:5: “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

1. Recall a time you lost hope. Which of the five truths (above) had you forgotten?

2. Take time to pray to God, either alone or with your spouse, for forgiveness and strength to remember God’s presence, perspective, power, provision, and promises.

Listen to Dr. Dan Allender talk about “Hope in the midst of Marriage Conflict.”