The World Today is in a Crisis of Hope

Consider the current situation of this world. We have earthquakes, fires, floods, and other weather extremes. There are pestilences such as coronavirus. We have the threat of wars, whether trade-based or actual, between western societies and China. There is economic instability and job uncertainty, also caused by coronavirus. There is global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, and climate change.

These things are overwhelming. They deeply affect the physical, mental, and spiritual condition of people, producing fear, desperation, and hopelessness. People see no path forward and are numbed by the depth and intensity of the issues that surround them, both globally and at a personal level.

The world is suffering a crisis of hope. People need hope, but desperation does not always lead to hope. However, it can do so when someone is seeking the truth and true hope in Jesus Christ.

Our emotions and desires exist in either the past, present, or future. We can only live in the present, but many of our negative feelings, emotions, and desires do not belong in the here and now. Instead, we need to determine where they should be and what to do about them.

Regrets and guilt belong in the past. They are the responses to things that were done or that should have been done that we did not do. They drag us down if they take hold, and lead to depression, misery, sadness, loss, and worse. They feed hopelessness, and that is the last thing anyone needs today.

Hope focuses on the future. It lifts people up to find joy, peace, resilience, strength, and purpose. It moves us forward knowing something better lies ahead. Hope is a positive influence allowing people to live a better life.

Between these is what exists in the present, and that can be either positive or negative, depending upon your choices.

Fear, worry, and anxiety live in the present. Choose these and you will spiral down into the depths of despair and hopelessness. Where there is no hope, there is no future.

One of the worst things about the COVID crisis is the increase in depression, hopelessness, and despair...even suicide. People commit suicide when they cannot see any hope in their future, and devastating hopelessness sits at the core of every suicide.

Faith also lives in the present. Those who find faith, find hope. Faith lives with hope and strengthens hope through faith in the One who is ever faithful, Jesus Christ. Conversely, hope motivates a person to strengthen their faith and find greater hope, leading to peace, consolation, solace, and joy.

This brings us to desperation, which can lead to either the path of despair or hope.

Desperate people are seeking a way out. Some find it in negative ways: anger, dissension, substance abuse, and so on. Others find it in the power of faith, goodness, service, seeking, and hope.

That is why this Bible plan is titled, “Looking for hope in a hopeless world” It is because in Jesus Christ we have hope. When desperate people are at their lowest ebb in their lives and they seek God, the glimmer of hope penetrates the gloom of desperation as they break down and ask God to step into their life. Those who fail to see the glimmer of hope in God’s grace are those who take the negative paths of hopelessness and despair.

Hope is spiritual, but hopelessness is carnal. Hope lifts us up to find the spirit of God in Jesus Christ. Hopelessness pulls us into pits of gloom with physical and mental abuses. Understanding this distinction between the hope of the spirit and the hopelessness of the flesh will help those who are desperately seeking hope.

So far, I have not mentioned love, because love exists in all of the past, present, and future. Only love is eternal because God is love and God is eternal. We will get to love later in this series as we consider the linkages between faith, hope, and love.