Look Around You - We Need Hope

The people of the world today are walking a razor's edge, and the razor is named: desperation.

The problem with walking along a razor's edge is that you need to jump off before you cut your feet. Stay on it long enough and you will suffer as you walk. There are two sides you can jump off the desperation razor and which one you choose is critical.

Likewise, the people of today have these same choices. They can stay walking the path of desperation and suffer the despair that it continually throws up. Alternatively, they can jump into the abyss of fear, disappointment, despair, and hopelessness that leads to misery and death.

Fortunately, there is a third and better alternative. Jump away from the place of desperation through seeking hope, and specifically the hope that comes through Jesus Christ. Hope overcomes despair and desperation because hope looks to the future as a force that leads to a better life. When hope is placed in Jesus Christ, then hope is a powerful force for change within us.

You may not realize it, but God has deliberately subjected the whole of creation to hopelessness. Everything in the whole creation is futile, and so, desperation reigns. God doomed and destined this creation to decay. Everything dies, rusts, wears out or fades away. There is nothing in this world that lasts forever, including the world itself.

This is the plan of God. He wants people in His creation to seek what is permanent and what lasts forever. God wants people to seek His way. He wants them to find the hope that is in Jesus Christ and look to the unseen things that lead to eternal life. God hopes that people will seek something better.

Too often, man seeks hope in the wrong places. Consider the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14. While it is a parable about pride versus humility, we see also the differences in where each of these men placed their hope.

The Pharisee put his hopes in his religious behavior and actions thinking he was better than others because he was so pious and devoted to the works of the law. But his piety made him arrogant, proud, and judgemental.

By contrast, the tax collector was a desperate man. He put no hope in his physical position or situation, but instead, his hopes rested upon the Lord. He recognized that only God could show mercy and forgive his sins. His hope was in God.

Desperation can lead to hope for those who are seeking it, and the greatest hope of all is found in Jesus Christ.