When hope can be established in someone’s life; whether it is through life saving medicine in a third world country, clean drinking water, relief from a war or simply an encouraging word letting them know you care; it opens the door for God to move.
You see, when a person is in a situation that produces a mindset of focusing on them, it is very difficult to see Jesus. True, some of these situations can be self-produced, but it is not our job to judge, but to love. We should not focus on the “how did they get here” but look at where they are and how do we get them looking at Jesus. This is exactly what Jesus did with others. It didn’t matter how you got sick, how you ended up a tax collector, how you ended up in a life of sin. What Jesus was able to do was bring hope into their lives. Hope for a better future centered on the one true God.
Satan wants to produce barriers to keep people from God. These barriers create unhealthy doubt. These barriers can be physical, mental, or spiritual. But they all keep people looking at other things besides Jesus. How do we help break down these barriers and allow God to do his work?
It is that encouraging word. It is getting involved in social work that establishes hope that you are passionate about, like providing clean drinking water or an education the world’s poor.
You have to ask yourself, “Are my words, my attitude, and my actions giving hope, or producing doubt?”
John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” We are here to love to bring hope. The hope of Jesus, the visible image of the invisible God.
Keith Sampson
Executive Coordinator – God of Hope