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Hope Thou in God

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jun 17, 1909

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 24.

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Hope Thou in God

By F. M. W.

The life of the practical Christian has in it but little of romance. It is not made up wholly of rapturous contemplation and day-dreams, nor yet of joyful realization of its highest purposes. Joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, realization and disappointment, are intermingled and combined in varying degrees.
The child of God in this world is clothed with mortal flesh. He has to do with all its frailties and weaknesses. By nature and environment he is akin to the great multitude around him, the majority of whom know not God. Like them, he is the subject of disease, the prey to temptation, the object of Satan’s attacks. Unlike them, he possesses higher purposes and purer desires, and has working in his life a power which is seeking to enable him to attain his noblest ideals. But though yielding his heart to the divine influence of the Spirit, so long as he is in this present state, he is subject in some measure to the vicissitudes of human existence. He may resist sin, but he still will feel the strain of the conflict. He may trust to divine guidance, but will be beset by doubts and fears. He may triumph over evil, but will feel the power of temptation. It will be a constant warfare. Overcoming grace will strive against besetting sin. The forces of good and evil will hold conflict in the mind. There will be constant temptation to sin, and unceasing appeals of the Spirit to walk in the paths of obedience. Every heart will see hours of darkness. Every life will feel at times its utter loneliness. Sorrow will well-nigh overwhelm, and withered hopes will turn to ashes the fondest anticipations.
God permits these trials and experiences for a wise purpose. They are his workmen, shaping and molding the divine purpose in the life. We are not to consider them strange, nor doubt our experience in, or acceptance of, God because of them. It is through them that we become more fully acquainted with the divine character. Only he who has known sorrow, has come to know the sweetness of divine sympathy and consolation. It is only as we experience our own weakness, as did sinking Peter, that we are led to cry out for help. It is only as we realize our utter unworthiness, that we cast ourselves at the feet of divine mercy. It is when we see our own utter wretchedness and moral defilement, and in contrast the beauty of the divine character, that we desire to exchange our filthy rags for Christ’s righteousness. In despair, we are led to grasp the hand reached down to help; and when all alone and forsaken, we welcome the proffered companionship of the blessed Comforter.
It is for these reasons — that we may love him more, know him better, and trust him implicitly — that he permits the sorrow, the heartaches, the chastening of life’s experiences. To every despairing soul he says, “Hope thou in God.” To the straying and backslidden he sends the invitation, “Return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” He invites the weary, “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.” He promises to exchange “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”
Poor discouraged soul, take hold of God anew. Accept and believe his promises. Turn your eyes from self-consideration to him. You can not obtain light by contemplating the darkness. You can not receive inspiration for to-morrow’s battles by dwelling upon to-day’s defeats. Look to Jesus. Cast yourself at his feet. Cry unto him for aid and succor. He will not cast you off. He will not turn a deaf ear to your entreaties. Though you have sinned ten thousand times, he will receive you, and help you to make up all the past. Then try once more. Let him be your courage, your strength, your power to resist. From all the past learn the lesson of your own foolishness, frailty, and utter lack of sufficiency, and take hold of his strength, and make peace with him. He waits to be gracious; he longs to reveal his power in your behalf. His Spirit invites you to-day; reject it not, nor grieve it from you, but accept the invitation of divine grace. God is able to save you.
There are no limitations to his power. He declares that his “hand is not shortened, that it can not save,” neither is his “ear heavy, that it can not hear.” He is able to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”
God does not mock you. The appeals of his Spirit are the evidence he offers that he wants you to return. Your case is not hopeless, for the Spirit still bids you turn. Come just as you are. You can not make yourself better. Your very weakness and wretchedness are appeals to God. He will save you because you need salvation. He will heal because you are sick and in need of a physician. He will be your wisdom because you have none of your own, and your righteousness because yours is as filthy rags. “He that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.” “To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” “Why art thou cast down, O my soul! and why art thou disquieted in me! hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” F. M. W.