Introduction

Hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future, an expectation that it will happen. When things don’t seem to be working out for your
good, that hope is what keeps you, giving you confidence that things will work out because the Lord will cause them to do so. Even when we are at our end, we should not focus on what is happening but the ‘hereafter’ and the promises of the Lord upon our lives.According to Proverbs 23:18, “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.” 1st Kings 17:7-12 gives an illustration of a widow at Zarephath who was clearly seen to have reached her end. When Elijah was sent by God to ask for food, she said that she had very little oil and flour left which she was to use to prepare the last meal for her and her son that they may eat and thereafter
die. She didn’t know that God had better plans for her and Elijah was sent to her that he may become a blessing to them. Upon obeying, what Elijah had instructed, the flour and jug of oil didn’t run out until the day the Lord gave rain to the land (1^st Kings 17:14-16). That widow was at her end, and that is when God came through for her. Many times when we reach our end, that is when the Lord comes that His name may be glorified.

5 ways to keep hope alive

1. Obey the Lord’s instructions – If the widow at Zarephath didn’t obey what Elijah had instructed, she wouldn’t have received her miracle. Follow the Lord’s instructions which are found in His word.
2. Do not let your heart be troubled and anxious about anything. Psalms 9:9, “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” Psalms 37:39, “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord, he is their stronghold in times of trouble.”
3. Preach that hope to yourself, confess it every now and then. We must learn to encourage ourselves in the Lord even when nobody else is encouraging us. Psalms 42:5, “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my
Saviour and my God.”
4. Be joyful in the Lord, the God who is sufficient, the supplier of all our needs. We should be joyful always despite the situations we are facing. Have hope in the Lord that your tomorrow will be greater than today. (Psalms 16: 9-11)
5. Be content, be satisfied in everything and appreciate what God has done. Proverbs 14:30, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” 1st Timothy 6:6, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Philippians 4:11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Conclusion

*You may not have what you want today, but thank God for what you already have. Putting our confidence in the Lord is never in vain because in His own time, He will come through for us in a mighty and victorious way.