When difficulties surface in our lives, they come like a torrent. There is a domino effect of trials, one knocking into the next and setting off a series of events that threaten to swallow all hope.

Sometimes hope can be downright elusive.

Our souls ache for normalcy, for homeostasis — a balancing of our days. Instead, circumstances swing on a pendulum, the force of it all jolting us far from peace. During life’s trials, King David declared in Psalm 39:7, “And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.”

It seems so much of life is tangled up in waiting. In the stretched-out seasons that beg for answers. Waiting can cause our hope to tremble, buckle, and even dissipate.

The word David penned for “wait,” — kä·vä’, communicates great expectation. Surrounded by trials, temptations, and threats, he waited with great expectancy. Do we? Do we grasp hope as not something we only wish to see manifested, but also something we wait for with blessed assurance?

One chapter later, David offers a view from the other side of his waiting.

 

“I waited patiently for the Lord;

And He reached down to me and heard my cry.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the mud;

And He set my feet on a rock, making my footsteps firm.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear

And will trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3

 

When trials press in and a shadow of fear obscures our vision of hope, we can hold to these promises from God’s Word:

 

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11

Our God is a God of hope. He does not leave us in the valley, and He does not merely pull us out. Instead, He enters in with us, going before and behind, graciously guiding us into His unshakeable hope.

 

“Under a canopy of endless stars

I’m well aware of who I am

And who You are

God, You created every galaxy

You hold them all in place just like

You’re holding me

My life is in Your hands

I’m trusting in Your perfect plan

Oh God, my hope is in You

God, I know that You work

All things together for my good

So I will stay by Your side where I’m secure

Through every trial and every storm

In everything, my hope is in You, Lord”

—    Listen to “My Hope Is In You” on our brand-new “Hidden In My Heart, Volume IV” album!