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Have you ever been at the place in your life where you literally lost ALL hope? Now I am not talking about losing hope of finding a good sale. Or you lost hope of the weather ever changing. I am talking about LOSING ALL HOPE of a life changing situation. Something along the lines of a failing marriage, a dying loved one, losing a child, finding a job, being delivered from an addiction, I mean something really serious.

I don't think you can go through this life with out experiencing this feeling of emotional wreckage at least once and for some of us numerous times in our life time. If you have never experienced this helpless, overwhelming, devastating feeling of hopelessness and despair, the chances are you will before you leave this earth. I am not preaching a doom and gloom sermon. I am preaching reality. For some of you, you are at this place right now. And for some it has been an ongoing feeling for a while, which in its simplest form is called depression!

When things happen that cause you to lose all hope, what do you do? What steps can you take to come out of this? Lets look at a situation in Paul's life and what He did. Now as you look at this, please keep in mind that this is not a fairytale. This was a real situation happening to a real man with real feelings and real problems. Sometimes we have a tendency to look at the Bible as fiction novel. This is a real story with real lives involved.

Lets look at Acts 27, the whole chapter. Now I want you to stop reading right now and go pick up your bible and read Acts 27. I will be referencing certain passages out of this chapter with different translations that bring out the situation in a clearer way.

The short of it is that Paul was on a ship that was in major trouble, so much that in verses 14-15, The Message Bible says But they were no sooner out to sea than a gale-force wind, the infamous nor'easter, struck. They lost all control of the ship. It was a cork in the storm. And in verse 20 It had been many days since we had seen either sun or stars. Wind and waves were battering us unmercifully, and we lost all hope of rescue.

Now think about this, they had lost all control of the ship, they were like a cork bobbing up and down with no direction and no way of making the ship go the right way and they ended up losing any hope of living. They had decided that they were going to die and was trying to come to terms with it. I can only imagine how they felt. Thinking about never seeing their families again. There imaginations probably kicked in and tryed to imagine what it was going to feel like to die at sea, drowning or maybe even getting eaten by sharks. You can only think about what was going through their minds. So what did Paul do? Verses 23-25 says

"Last night God's angel stood at my side, an angel of this God I serve, saying to me, "Don't give up, Paul. You're going to stand before Caesar yet--and everyone sailing with you is also going to make it.' So, dear friends, take heart. I believe God will do exactly what he told me.

I believe the first thing Paul did was pray, don't you? It says the angel of God talked to him. Don't we have the spirit of God talking to us daily? He also said that He believed that God will do exactly what He says. Don't we have God's word to tell us what He says He will do? So he prayed, listened and kept his eyes(his focus) on what God's word said. God's words are still today, just as active and powerful as then. Whether it be God's word spoken by an angel or God's word spoken by you, read from the Bible. They are still God's words. And they are still powerful and they still work. That should encourage the hardest heart.

The word also says, Oh my soul, don't be discouraged. Don't be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise him for all that he will do. He is my help! He is my God! [ Psalm 42:11, The Living Bible]

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God. [The Amplified]

Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God. [New American Standard Bible]

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God-- soon I'll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He's my God. [The Message]

Why are you crushed down, O my soul? and why are you troubled in me? put your hope in God; for I will again give him praise who is my help and my God.

[The Bible in Basic English]

So do you believe that God does not want us to LOSE HOPE? I know how dangerous it is to lose hope. Sometimes it is hard, very hard to get it back and sometimes, there are some who never do. If this happens to you, Immediately run to the word, pray and ask God for a word in due season and keep your eyes on what the word says. Take courage and put your hope, dreams, faith and trust in the Lord. He will not let you down and He will always, always, always, restore your hope and give life to your dreams again! Be blessed! Lisa

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

The Saints Who Slept