Have you ever faced something in life that seemed totally hopeless, to where you felt like there was no way out of your difficulties and everything appeared lost? Or maybe you find yourself in a place right now where the situation seems impossible and there is no hope in sight. You wonder if God is hearing your prayers as you aren’t feeling the reassurance and comfort of His presence or seeing how your circumstances can change.
You may be tempted to feel as though no one else is experiencing such intense and challenging difficulties. It is important at such times to remind ourselves of the promises in the Bible of the hope we have as Christians. The Bible refers to God as the God of all hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
The word “hope” in the Bible carries a different meaning than how it is used today. Nowadays when people say they are hoping for something, it often carries the sense that they are wishing something will happen, but they are uncertain that it will. But when the Bible talks about hope, it is associated with our faith—our certainty—that the things God has promised in His Word will come to pass.
Hebrews 11:1 gives us a definition of biblical faith: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith is assurance, or certainty, and it is grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who purchased our salvation through His suffering, and now reigns forever. That gives us the faith to endure the difficulties, challenges and tragedies we face in this life, as we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
It can also help to bolster our faith if we remind ourselves that there have been some prominent biblical characters who have experienced great adversity, and reflect on how they came through the “darkest valley” of their lives (Psalm 23:4 NIV). They didn’t travel through such times unscathed, with unswerving joy and victory in their hearts, and yet they held on to hope and refused to give up.
Here are a few examples of men in the Bible who faced monumental challenges. We can find hope through their stories. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
The story of Job in the Old Testament is a well-known one. The Bible contains a very vivid account of all that he went through, as he was severely tested and lost his family, his wealth and his health. He was in such anguish and distress that he even cursed the day he was born (Job 3:1–3) and begged God to end his life (Job 6:8–9 NLT). But even as he struggled to understand why he was experiencing such trials, he took a stand of faith, declaring “Though he slay me, I will hope in him” (Job 13:15). Job went on to experience God’s blessings once again in his life, with a much greater understanding of God and His love.
King David lost some of his sons, his kingdom, and his health, and he lost a series of battles against his enemies. It is hard to imagine the trauma he must have endured in such times. His feelings of woe and despair spilled over into his writings in Psalms. “Will the Lord turn away from us forever? And isn’t He going to be kind to us any longer? Is His unfailing love gone permanently?” (See Psalm 77:7–9.)
It sounds like David was at the end of his rope by that point, and yet he held on to hope, as we read throughout the Psalms. “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 43:5).
We can only imagine the despair and discouragement Peter must have experienced after he denied Jesus before His crucifixion (Matthew 26:69–75). Having denied knowing his own Savior, not once, but three times, how could he ever show his face in public again, much less be trusted as a leader of the early church? And yet, days later Peter stood up boldly in the public square, proclaiming Jesus, leading thousands of people to Christ, and being arrested in the process. (See Acts 2 and 3.) Peter went on to proclaim, “According to his great mercy, [God] has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
Even the Apostle Paul, who played such a central role in the early church and voiced so much encouragement to the churches, felt hopeless and despondent at times. He expressed this when he wrote, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8 NIV). And yet throughout his epistles Paul constantly emphasizes the hope we have in Christ and encourages us to “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). We can still have faith in Jesus and hold on to hope even when the circumstances we face seem difficult, hopeless, and even impossible.
If these men, who are some of God’s greats, experienced such times of anguish of spirit, loss and tragedy in their lives, should we think it strange that we, as God’s children today, experience our seasons of desolation and even despair? At such times, we can’t always see the rewards of our faithfulness or the fulfillment of His promises. But the Bible tells us that when our faith is tested, we can “rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12–13 NIV).
Everyone goes through dark valleys in life at some point. One psalm described it as the “Valley of Baca,” a place of weeping and lamentations. But the psalmist also speaks of the hope for those who pass through these valleys and are strengthened in the process. “As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs… They go from strength to strength till each appears before God in Zion” (Psalm 84:6-7 NIV).
What a beautiful picture and promise! The key is that we go through the valley, and as we do, we can “make it a place of springs.” A dry valley of desolation can become a place of refreshment, and our faith can be strengthened in the process.
One thing that these men of faith in the Bible have in common is that they continued to praise God through their darkest valleys and their times of despair and suffering (Psalm 84:4–5). So, as we pass through the valley of tears, suffering or hardship, if we continue to praise Him, we can turn that desolate valley into a spring of refreshing. Our journey of life can be turned into one of joy; our mourning can be turned into dancing, as He clothes us with gladness and gives us the strength of His joy (Psalm 30:11).
After we have come through the valley, we can look back with gratitude, realizing that the difficult experiences we have endured have brought enrichment and spiritual growth to our lives. The Lord will have enveloped us with His love and given us the priceless blessing of a deeper understanding of Himself, and a heart that comes to resemble His own more and more (2 Corinthians 3:18).