How to Find Hope in Difficult Times

Hope according to the bible can be defined as a “confident expectation.” It is an assurance concerning things that are unseen and unknown. But then, how do you find hope in difficult times? Especially in a season where it feels like the darkness is caving in on you and your hope is fast fading away.

Finding Hope in Difficult Times

Hagar is one woman in the bible who went through difficult times. She was an Egyptian slave girl who bore a son for Abram. In her bid to hasten God’s promise of giving her a son, Sarai, Abram’s wife took matters into her own hands. “Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.” – Genesis 16:3-4

Immediately Sarai discovered that her maid was pregnant, she began to treat her harshly. Hagar had no choice but to flee to the desert far away from her mistress. It was while in the desert that she found a streak of hope to hold on in that difficult season of her life. The angel of the Lord found her and spoke words that gave her comfort.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going? “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”  – Genesis 16:7-10

How often have you found yourself in the desert places of life? Alone, depressed, overwhelmed, broken, in deep grief, helpless and in need of a financial miracle. While Hagar had words of comfort spoken to her in her darkest hour, there are times when you may need to seek out that hope in your difficult season. The bible is full of stories and scriptures to help you constantly feed your hope and faith in God.

Hope in Hard Times Bible Verses

1. God has good plans for you.

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jeremiah 29:11

2. God is there with you even in the darkest pit.

If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! – Psalm 139:8

3. God hears you and will put a new song in your mouth to sing.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. – Psalm 40:1-3

4. God will feed you and provide for you.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? – Matthew 6:26

5. God’s love for you is greater than any difficulty or challenge.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? – Romans 8:35

6. God will strengthen you and carry you through the trial.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10

7. God will never abandon you.

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. – Deuteronomy 31:6

8. God can be trusted to fulfill his promises.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. – Hebrews 10:23

9. God is before you and behind you.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

10. God wants you to keep your eyes on him.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. – Psalm 121:1-2

11. God will help you abound in hope and faith.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:13

12. God cares deeply about you.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. – 1 Peter 5:7

13. God wants you to trust him .

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

14. God wants to fill your heart with his peace.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. – John 14:27

How to Find Hope in Difficult Times

Has the doctor’s report come out negative? Is the loss of a loved one staring you in the face right now? Is your heart burdened for your prodigal child? Does it look like the darkness had encircled you and you are sinking deeper into a dark hole?

Jesus himself spoke these words in John 16:33. He said,

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] – John 16:33 AMPC

The truth is that there will be trials, challenges, hard seasons and moments of frustration as we journey through life. And being a child of God does not make you immune from hard and difficult seasons. However, we have an assurance from the lips of Jesus that as long as we have him in our lives, we will have the peace, strength and confidence to walk through those difficult times when they come.

3 Simple Ways to Find Hope in Difficult Times

While Hagar found comfort in the words spoken to her by the angel of the Lord in her difficult season. Job still trusted in the faithfulness of God in the depth of his suffering. And he spoke these words – “Even though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” – Job 13:15

1. Feed Your Spirit with God’s Word

The word of God can bring comfort to our souls in our darkest moments. I remember when I was about to birth my second child, everything had gone well during the entire pregnancy until I began to bleed suddenly.

This was a few days to my due date, a quick scan revealed that the placenta had detached and an emergency C-section had to be carried out. I became scared and tears filled my eyes.

This was because I had envisioned and had been praying for a vaginal delivery all along. The doctor’s report had me really scared especially as I had never had any form of surgery in my life. Also, there was this negative mental stronghold in my mind about C-sections. But I found comfort in Psalm 91 which is one of my favorite Psalms. I took my bible and began to pray and declare the verses in that Psalm before I was taken into surgery.

Sometimes, it is the word of God that you have fed on over the years that will rise up within you and give you the needed hope and comfort in your moments of despair and helplessness. Don’t wait for trouble to come before you go in search of scriptures to pray. Make it a habit to constantly soak in God’s word into your heart and mind. Read it, meditate on it and pray the word. There will be renewed hope as the word becomes flesh and comes alive within you.

2. Trust in God’s Plan

How do you tell a woman who has just lost her husband to trust in God’s plan? Or how do you trust in God’s plan especially when it looks like his plans don’t seem to come as quickly as you want it.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Job experienced great loss and disaster. He lost everything and had many reasons to turn his back on God. He lost his children, his wealth and his health. Yet he could still say – “I will trust in God even though he slays me”- Job 13:15 His hope and trust in God remained steadfast even in his darkest hour.

God has a good plan for your life irrespective of what you may be going through. Trust in his plan and promises for your life today. Remember that his ways are not our ways. Turn your focus away from the pain and trust that he has a good plan for your life. He will lead you to a good place full of peace, stability and joy once again.

3. Remember God’s Faithfulness

Had God been good to you? Then choose to remember his faithfulness today.

I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. – Lamentations 3:19-26

Jeremiah in the first few verses of the scripture above remembers the sorrows that Israel had experienced. We can see that from the choice of his words. And the more he remembers and dwells on this sorrow, the more sorrowful he becomes. In verse 20, he says, “I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.”

Dwelling on your sorrow, pain and problems will only lead you deeper into despair, anxiety and depression.

But when Jeremiah chooses to remember God’s faithfulness, his hope is renewed. He says in Lamentations 3:21 – “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.” He then begins to recount who God is and his faithfulness.

 Today, choose to remember that because God is faithful, your today and future are safe in his hands. And because of his great love for you, these trials  that you are going through will not consume you. Make God your portion today. Wait patiently for him. His compassion never fails.

Prayer:

Lord, my hope is renewed today. I will trust in your plan and purpose for my life. Though my seasons may change, I have a God who is unchanging and whose faithfulness abides forever. Lord, you will not leave me where you found me. You will not abandon me or forsake me. You will carry me on your wings and and I will soar above the storms in my life. Lord, help me to wait patiently on you. Amen!

You can also read:

What You Can Do When Walking through a Dark Season in your Life

How to Stand firm in Difficult Times

3 Quick Ways to Build your Faith During a Storm

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