286. How can I stay hopeful when everything around me seems to be getting worse?

[00:00:08] Hi friends, welcome to another episode of Making Disciples, my name is Chris and I am your host. Warm, warm welcome to you, I hope you're doing alright.

[00:00:20] What fun it is to spend time with you, I've had a couple of messages this week from listeners who, you guys are just so generous and I guess what I want to say is that never presume a Christian church leader gets encouragement.

[00:00:42] Never presume we get encouragement because you can pull yourself out, you can share things and people just go well that's what they do. That's what they do, that's the quality of what they do. They don't need to hear that something resonated with me or connected with me. And the reality is, I don't know if I'm just different to other journalists, I don't get, you know, we don't get huge amounts of feedback.

[00:01:09] People just expect you to do what you do and when a listener just writes in with either grateful for this bit of the episode when you said this or grateful you looked at this particular topic, that is just really encouraging. So I want to say thank you for taking the time, if you've done that over the last six months, there's been numbers of listeners and I just really feel grateful to be a part of a community that are just so positive and encouraging.

[00:01:38] So thank you so much. Now, I'm not sharing that so now you all need to respond, don't worry, you don't need to do that. I'm just making the point that actually if something resonates with you, if your church leader preaches on a Sunday, your small group leader says something, tell them, because they've put time and effort and preparation in,

[00:02:00] that when you say thank you, that really connected with me, you might actually just be giving them the encouragement that they actually might need to hear. They may think it didn't go that well. Now, you know, many of us that preach, we do get preachers hangovers. That's where we wake up on a Monday morning and go, oh, my gosh, how did I miss that? How did I? Why did I say that? Why did I get too vulnerable then? So to have some feedback is always good.

[00:02:27] So thank you. And do keep doing that to those that, you know, that speak into your life. And today I want to explore a listener question. So I did have this question come through a couple of weeks back and I've been brewing on it, thinking on it, and I'd love to bring some thoughts into it. The question that the listener sent to me, and I really do apologize now, I actually don't know the listener's name. I didn't write it down. I jotted down the question, but I'm not sure who asked it.

[00:02:57] But the question was so good. How can I stay hopeful when everything around me seems to be getting worse? Oh, that's a good question, isn't it? How can I stay hopeful when everything around me seems to be getting worse?

[00:03:23] I thought that's definitely worth exploring together. And I want to dip into some things that I might have said before, just around hope, as well as things that maybe I haven't said before. I want to do some diagnosing a little bit on the different ways that we might approach the world. I hope this will be helpful to you. We'll end up coming to Romans 15, verse 13, as a hopeful little passage on what God is doing.

[00:03:52] So I'm going to share some thoughts with you into this question of staying hopeful when the world feels like it's getting worse. And friends, it does, doesn't it? I'm not sure if it is, because I look back at the 80s and the Cold War, and a lot of what was going on in the 80s with the minor strikes. I'm not sure if it is worse. But we certainly went through a time in the millennium where things were easier,

[00:04:20] although we did have the Iraq War then as well, things going on with Iran. So I'm not entirely convinced things are getting worse. I think there's a level of things are different. But we are always going through wars. Wars, there are seasons of wars, of course, but there always seems to be something rumbling on. So I don't know if things are actually getting worse, but I think they feel like they're getting worse.

[00:04:48] And they're definitely affecting our emotional well-being, our physical well-being. You know, regularly talking to people who are saying, I'm just not sleeping because I'm worrying about things. So it certainly does feel like there's a lot going on, doesn't there? And what do we do when it feels like we are becoming a bit hopeless in a world where there's just so much being thrown at us all the time? So I thought it was worth speaking into that. So here we, let's dive in. Let's dive in.

[00:05:16] How can I stay hopeful when everything around me seems to be getting worse? Wonderful. Well, let's dive in to this question. I think I want to give a straight answer before we then duck and dive through the episode. But my straight answer would be this.

[00:05:41] Friends, if you want to stay hopeful when everything around you seems to be getting worse, I would say this. You stay hopeful by fixing your eyes, not on your circumstances, but on the God who raised Jesus from the dead and who has promised to make all things new.

[00:06:00] You know, Christian hope, the hope that we have through this good news of Jesus is not based on any confidence that might come from things getting better tomorrow. It is confidence that God is faithful today and will ultimately fulfill his promises in the days ahead. So that will be my short answer.

[00:06:25] Fix your eyes, not on your circumstances, but on the God who raised Jesus from the dead. And, you know, it does remind me Hebrews 12. Doesn't it run the race to get the prize? Fix your eyes, fix your eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith. You know, it really feels like that that is the thing to be doing. And I think that is so true. Now, what I want to just talk about something is that hope is different.

[00:06:55] I want to call this hope is different. Hope is different to optimism, wishful thinking, denial or anything else. Hope is different. And there's a phrase that I've come across that's attributed to Leslie Newbigin, Scottish theologian.

[00:07:22] When asked whether he was an optimist or a pessimist, he replied, I am neither. I love that. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Cup full, cup half empty. He says, I am neither. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. I love that. You don't need to be half full, half empty.

[00:07:51] As Christians, we focus on the truth that Jesus has risen. That all that is ahead will all come to fruition. Some things will take longer than others. Christ will return at some point, but there's a time between then. But this is true. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And I love that because it cuts through the way we often think about hope. Many of us move between optimism and pessimism.

[00:08:22] Oh, things are great. Oh, they're wonderful. Or they're all falling apart. It's all a mess. And some days we look at a world and we think everything will work out fine. Then another day we see a headline. We see the challenges around us. And we wonder whether things are just getting worse. Both optimism and pessimism are often shaped by our circumstances.

[00:08:47] So what is happening around you will shape if you're an optimist or a pessimist. Now, there are some people who are just age-long optimists. You know, whatever life you're staring at them, they've just always got this optimistic view. I don't think many of us are like that. I think there are some. And I think sometimes that optimism actually is more denial. They're just sticking their head in the ground and they're not really engaging.

[00:09:14] I remember someone not too long ago I was talking to who described themselves as an optimist. And when I actually pushed them, I thought, No, you're just an ostrich. You've got your head stuck in the ground and you are not paying any attention to what's happening around you. You're so self-absorbed that you've got no idea of anything else. And this isn't optimism. This is you just ignoring. I don't think there's that many optimists, really true optimists in the world. So I want to explore this a little bit.

[00:09:44] But Christian hope is different to optimism and pessimism. Because Christian hope is not based upon our circumstances. It's not based on how things are going, if it's a sunny day or a rainy day. Now, Romans 15, 13. Great little passage to kind of hold as a bit of a foundation or cornerstone here in this discussion would be this. So Romans 15, 13. May the God of hope. And I love that.

[00:10:13] The God of hope. In other words, God is a hopeful God. He's not a God who says, oh, it could all go wrong. Why do we bother? He's a God of hope. So people often say to me, why did God create a world where Adam and Eve could eat an apple and sin could enter it? Surely he should have created a world where that wasn't possible. Well, a God of pessimism would say, oh, gosh, they're definitely going to eat the apple. I better stop them from the beginning.

[00:10:44] But actually, God is a God of hope. Which means he was hopeful for what the future may bring and hopeful that Adam and Eve may not. You know, it's full of hope. There is this sense of things could turn out well. He's a God of hope.

[00:11:01] So may the God of hope fill you with all joy and all peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So as we talk about this hopefulness, let's recognize it comes by an outpouring of the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is, now, of course I'd say that. I'm a charismatic.

[00:11:29] I believe the work of the Holy Spirit is essential to all things that we talk about in terms of discipleship. But it starts with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And I love this outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace. Hope, joy, peace. As we trust in him, as we come to believe that he is trustworthy and he is faithful and he is good,

[00:11:57] that trusting in him leads to a filling of hope, joy and peace. Because essentially we are trusting him, not our circumstances. It's not the ground that we stand on. Our trust is based on something that's unshakable so that you may overflow with hope. So when we trust God, we're filled with the Holy Spirit. We're trusting God. We're filled with hope, joy and peace. But not only are we filled.

[00:12:25] So when you fill a cup to the top, it's full. Well, actually, as you trust God, it's more than that. So that you may overflow with hope. So in other words, what Romans is talking about here is an encounter with God in such a way that we become people who are overflowing with hope, joy and peace. It's not just enough. It goes beyond what we need. It's an overflow.

[00:12:49] Whenever we think something in the Bible is overflowing, there's a reason for the overflow. The overflow is always about giving away. It's always about someone else or something else receiving because we are overflowing. When you are half full and you're being filled, whatever you are given goes into you. But the overflow is when things go beyond you.

[00:13:13] And whatever God has given us here, hope, joy and peace, it's overflowing so that others may receive what he is giving. So it's a great little passage. But isn't there so much just in there about receiving the Holy Spirit by the power of God, hope, joy, peace and the overflow of what God is giving us. It's a great little passage. Let me just read it again.

[00:13:34] May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Friends, I want to say notice here. Notice that Paul does not call God the God of optimism. The God of positive thinking. Paul here calls him the God of hope.

[00:14:03] And I've been thinking about this. There's a difference between optimism and hope. And I think Paul chooses his words so carefully, doesn't he? He never talks about optimism. And he never talks about wishful thinking. He only ever talks about a God of hope. Paul understands there's a difference between these things. Let me just walk through them. So what is disillusionment?

[00:14:31] So you come across those, you might feel this yourself, where we just feel disillusioned. Gosh, everything's getting worse. What is the point? Disillusionment is when our surroundings are shaping our feelings. And we end up expecting more. We've hoped for more and it's not happened. And therefore, reality disappoints us.

[00:14:58] And we become disillusioned because reality around us is just disappointing us. Because our surroundings are shaping our feelings. So disillusionment is a feeling that we have when actually things have not played out the way we'd expect. Now, pessimism. Pessimism assumes things will probably get worse.

[00:15:25] So a pessimist is somebody who's making an assumption that things are only heading in one direction. And it's worse. An optimist is somebody who's, again, making an assumption. The optimist assumes that things will probably get better. So a pessimist is making an assumption just on what's happening around them that things will get worse. An optimist is making the same kind of assumption but in the opposite direction things will get better.

[00:15:54] Now, wishful thinking hopes for change without really any foundation for hope. A wishful thinker is just wishing and kind of behaving wishful that things will become better. And this isn't based upon any foundation or anything else. It's just a dream that they have.

[00:16:20] It's a psychological hope based on no foundation at all. But biblical hope is different to all those five things. It's disillusionment, pessimism, optimism, denial, and wishful thinking. Oh, did I mention? I didn't mention denial. Denial pretends difficult things are not happening.

[00:16:46] Somebody who is denying is just somebody who is pretending to themselves and to the world around them that difficult things are actually not happening. So they're ignoring. They're denying. They're sticking their head in the ground. And they're being like an ostrich. Disillusionment, pessimism, optimism, denial, wishful thinking. But biblical hope is different to those five things.

[00:17:12] Biblical hope looks honestly at the world and goes, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. This is a mess. We are surrounded by egotistical leaders who make snap decisions, who are all about extending their own empires. The world's a mess. There's starvation. The world's a mess. There are those who are trafficked into horrific situations. The world's a mess.

[00:17:43] And biblical hope looks and says the world's a mess. It's all broken. It's all broken. It's all broken. While at the same time trusting that God is still at work. Biblical hope is in the belief that whatever is happening, God is still doing something. That he has not finished yet. That it is not over. And there's still more to come.

[00:18:07] So biblical hope is really trusting on this father God that he is still doing something. And a new thing will continue to emerge. See I am doing a new thing. Hope does not ignore reality. It actually interprets reality through a promise. The promise of God that we see outworked on the cross.

[00:18:34] We see outworked in the resurrection and the ascension. And the promise that Jesus will return. So biblical hope is based on reality. The world's a mess. But it interprets that reality through the promise of God that Jesus will return. And that there will be a new heaven. And there will be a new earth. Revelation 21-22. This is what the psalmist David writes in Psalm 37.

[00:19:03] Those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. Those that hope in the Lord will inherit the land. In other words those that are hoping in God. There's something more to come. He has not finished yet. There's something else. And therefore this biblical hope is really focusing not on our circumstances improving. It's focusing on Jesus.

[00:19:31] It's saying Jesus has still got another move. And Christian hope is rooted in God's character. God's promises. And ultimately God's victory. All through Jesus Christ. So Christian hope is rooted in God's character. His promises. And the victory that we've seen in Jesus. That's where biblical hope comes from. Quickly why don't I just share some thoughts with you around three practical ways to become more biblically hopeful. How do we become? Number one.

[00:20:00] We've got to remember what God has done. The Bible is filled with the phrase. Remember. Remember. Remember. Remember what the Lord has done. If you want to be hopeful. Then remember on what the Lord has done for you. Now hope grows when we choose to recall God's faithfulness in the past and the present. Where is God faithful right now? And when we choose to remember that. No matter what else is happening. But choose to remember God's faithfulness.

[00:20:28] It builds that hope in us. If God was faithful then. Then he will be faithful now. Number two. Fill your mind with God's promises. So if you want to become more biblically hopeful. Then what we need to be doing is filling our mind with the things that God has said he will do. The promises of him. The key thing here is about what you're filling your mind with.

[00:20:58] And if you are watching a lot of the news. If you are listening to very hopeless people. Very cynical people. Those that are pessimistic. The danger is you're filling. You're surrounding yourself with something that's hopeless. But as you fill your mind with God's promises. What ends up happening. It's a bit like CBT isn't it? You end up flooding your thinking. With things that are just true.

[00:21:28] These are what God has done for me before. And these are the promises that he has made to me. So fear often grows when our minds are filled with the latest headlines. Worries. Worst case scenarios. But biblical hope grows when we immerse ourselves in God's word. Therefore passages like Romans 8. Psalm 23. Isaiah 40.

[00:21:58] Revelation 21. I see a new heaven and a new earth. All of these kind of passages. Remind us that God is present. That he is working. And that God will ultimately make all things new. In other words. Hope is not positive thinking. Hope is trusting what God has said to us. About what he will do. And the fact that he makes a promise. That he will return. That Christ will come.

[00:22:28] And that at this point. There will be a new heaven. And a new earth. When we fill our mind with these hopeful promises. It does then change. How we engage with the world around us. And with the hope levels that we have. The third thing is. I would say this. Practical. So we need to practice. Hopeful action. So biblical hope is never passive. People who are hoped in God. Continue to pray. Continue to serve. They continue to love.

[00:22:58] They continue to give generously. They continue to share the gospel. So as we practice. This hopeful action. The knock on effect. Is we become more hopeful. I recognize this. Every time I share the gospel with somebody. I just get more hopeful. And that isn't when. You know they always respond. But you know. Sometimes people do respond well. But you know. Every time I share the gospel. Yeah this is just true. Whenever I read. Scripture reminds me of the gospel. Yeah this is just true.

[00:23:28] And when you feel discouraged. What we have to do. Is just the next faithful thing. Those moments. When we are feeling. Pessimistic. We are not sure. We feel disillusioned. We are feeling hopeless. Actually the response. The way of flipping that. Is quite easily. When we are discouraged. Do the next faithful thing. Pray. Read God's word. Worship.

[00:23:58] Share the good news with somebody else. You know. Bringing encouragement to someone else. Is the next faithful thing. Praying for your neighbour. Is the next faithful thing. Serving at your church. Is the next faithful thing. Taking the next step of obedience. Is the next faithful thing. Hope often grows. As we participate in what God is already doing. Rather than waiting to feel hopeful first. As you move. As you action.

[00:24:27] As you do the next faithful thing. What we find is that. That hopefulness grows in us. Let's just go back. Romans 15. Verse 13. What did it say. May the God of hope. Fill you with all joy and peace. As you trust in him. So that you may overflow with the hope. By the power of the Holy Spirit. So practicing this hopefulness. Is something as we trust in him. And as we walk in faith. There is this growth of joy.

[00:24:57] Peace and hope. That happens in us. Hope is not something that we can ever manufacture. Is it? It's not something we can manufacture. It's something that God grows within us. As we trust him. As we step out in faith. I once heard somebody say. That fear is placing faith in a future. That you do not want. Fear is placing faith in a future. That you do not want.

[00:25:24] Hope is placing faith in the future. That God has promised. I found that really helpful. It's so easy to live by fear. Isn't it? Living. Fear is placing faith in a future. That you do not want. It's so easy to live by fear. Rather than living by faith and hope. So in many ways. It takes the same amount of energy. To be hopeful. As it does to be fearful.

[00:25:53] Somebody who is fearful. Is basically feeding that feeling. With all their thoughts. All their ideas. All of their emotions. All of their emotions. They are investing into the fear. Which makes them all fearful. Hopeful people. Are putting the same amount of energy. But in the opposite direction. To building up faith. You know. Both involve imagining a future. One imagines that everything might go wrong.

[00:26:23] The other one trusts what God can do. So perhaps today the invitation is quite simple. To choose to put our attention. Within the things that God has promised that he will do. Rather than in the direction of fear. Which. Is putting our energy. Into a future. That. We are imagining.

[00:26:54] We don't know how it's going to play out. Now I'm going to end for us with just a prayer. And I'm hoping it's a prayer. Of committing ourselves to that hope filled life. That hope filled thinking. So as I pray. You know the invitation is Holy Spirit. Would you be bearing that hope fruit in our lives. So let me just pray. Don't place your confidence in your circumstances.

[00:27:21] Don't place your confidence in your own optimism. Place your confidence in a God of hope. And may he fill you with all joy. And peace as you trust in him. So that you may overflow with the hope. By the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Friends until next time. Grace and peace. Have a blessed week. And we'll speak soon.