When All Hope Is Gone: Hope And Helmet Law
When all hope is gone, can you still believe?
In Romans 4:18 Paul tells us that when there was no hope, Abraham believed. As a result, he became the father of many nations.
The facts that were against him were his age and his wife was barren. There was no hope. But… hope against hope, he chose to believe.
One of the biggest struggles we face is the battle in our minds. The solution to winning that battle is to apply the Word which builds our faith. In our thoughts, we war against hope. When we get the Word into our hearts, it flows over into our thought life.
God-Given Hope
We need to bring that God-given hope which comes from our hearts into our minds. That hope protects our minds.
How do we do that?
All but two of the United States have a helmet law. This law is enforced to protect our heads against trauma. The Bible has a helmet law as well. We need to put on our Helmet of hope to protect our minds.
It is our defense against the enemy and the thoughts he tries to inflict on us.
Our thoughts come from three primary sources:
1. Our senses – see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. We SEE or HEAR the news and it affects our thoughts.
2. Our subconscious memories – our mind reminds us that we have seen, heard, or been here before and we respond
3. The spiritual world – both from God and the devil
The key is to learn to control our thoughts through applying scripture to them.
Controlling Our Thoughts
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I have toward you – thoughts of peace and not evil – to give you a future and a HOPE.” We are aware that this is what God wants for us – we need to learn how to apply it.
Hope is the CONFIDANT expectation of the goodness of God. We choose to be hopeful – based on what the Word tells us. We choose to think on the things Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Hope then becomes a mentality – a state of mind as we concentrate on the promises of God, rather than on the problems we face. It grows as we build up our spirit with the Word of God.
Change your thought life and watch every aspect of your life change. Build up your spirit with the Word of God and it will overflow into your mind.
We can choose what we want to believe. God does not force Himself on us. If we choose to hope because of what the Word tells us, we soon realize that hope is the greatest force of nature. It is indispensable for generating enthusiasm. That true hope comes from our spirit and flows into every area of our lives.As Faith Builds, So Does Hope
Instead of thinking, “I will never break free of this habit,” we thank God that greater is He that is in me than He who is in the world.
Instead of telling ourselves that we don’t’ deserve another chance, we can confess that the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us of all sin and that we stand righteous before Him.
Instead of complaining that nothing ever works out for us, we can thank God that all things work together for our good.
Instead of wondering if God will heal me, we claim that by His stripes we were healed.
As our faith builds, so does our hope. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Not only does it give us hope but we can ABOUND in hope by the power that lives in us. WOW.
Don’t you want that kind of hope in your life? A hope that fills you up and overflows.
Hope is the greatest source of motivation, energy, and creativity – the opposite of what we feel like when we fret, worry, fear, etc.