Experiencing God's Presence #258

Experiencing God's Presence #258

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.

Isaiah 61:3

Despair is a common human feeling. It isn’t, however, part of our original design. Neither is it part of our redemption. We are clothed in joy instead of mourning, beauty instead of ashes, praise instead of despair. Though we may dread many of the problems or people we face, we aren’t meant to. Though we lose hope in many of the trials of our lives, we aren’t intended to. Though we forget that God sees the end of a situation even when no end is in sight, we aren’t supposed to. Despair is supposed to be foreign to a relationship with Him.

That’s because we serve a God of hope and read Scriptures filled with hopeful promises from beginning to end. While the church wallows in low expectations and defers hope into the far-too-distant future, God’s Spirit fills us with hope and expectation in His goodness now. He reminds us of His benefits, His promises, and His Presence. Despair cannot thrive or even survive when we are in close fellowship with Him and are seeing Him well. God, who is not discouraged about anything, won’t allow it.

Learn to see despair and its related emotions—discouragement and dread—as symptoms of distance from God. His Presence is a powerful immune system against poisonous thoughts of hopelessness. And hopeless thoughts are a weapon of the adversary to blind us to His Presence. Cultivate fellowship with God and choose hope. God’s purposes are good enough to fill us with joy and leave no room for despair.

Lord, I lose hope far too easily, which means I lose sight of You far too easily. If I saw You clearly, I would be encouraged. Please come close and fill me with truth. Give me the joy of Your Presence and the hope of all Your promises.