WEBVTT 1 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:06.919 Today I have a question for you. Have you ever felt like you were 2 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:10.919 the wrong person for the job, Like, what did you get yourself into 3 00:00:11.119 --> 00:00:15.119 You didn't have the right experience or the right skill set? Well, I 4 00:00:15.199 --> 00:00:20.039 know I have and you probably have too. This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 5 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:24.640 the audio broadcast ministry of Pastor Rick Warren. Okay, today we're going 6 00:00:24.719 --> 00:00:30.039 to continue with the series The Manifestation of Your Life Mission. Rick is showing 7 00:00:30.120 --> 00:00:34.280 us that no matter how big the thing is that God is calling us to 8 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:38.159 do, we don't have to run away from it. We can actually run 9 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.479 toward it. This is such a good message, and I hope you'll invite 10 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:46.200 a friend to listen along with you as we discover how to embrace God's calling 11 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.560 on our lives and how we can live according to the purpose and plan that 12 00:00:50.640 --> 00:00:54.640 He has for us. Let's join Rick as he shares part two of a 13 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:59.119 message called what to Do When it Feels Hopeless. I want to read your 14 00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:03.719 poem. It's over one hundred years old. That's why I got named sam 15 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:10.560 Foss. It's called the Prayer of Farmer Brown. The proper way for one 16 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:15.200 to pray, said Pastor Samuel Keyes, is to humble yourself before the Lord 17 00:01:15.280 --> 00:01:21.359 and get down on your knees. No, I say that the way to 18 00:01:21.400 --> 00:01:27.079 pray, said Pastor David Wise, is the stand up straight with outstretched arms 19 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:33.439 and eyes turned to the skies. Oh no, no, no, said 20 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:40.200 Pastor Slow. That posture is too proud. We should all pray with eyes 21 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:47.560 closed tight and heads contritely bowed. Well, I believe your hands should be 22 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:53.879 gently clasped in front, with both thumbs pointing towards the ground, said Pastor 23 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:02.040 Johnny Blunt. But last year I fell into a well head first, said 24 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:07.479 Farmer Brown. Both of my feet were sticking up and my head was pointing 25 00:02:07.520 --> 00:02:13.400 down. Yet in my distress, I called out the God with the most 26 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:19.159 honest words I've said. Yes, the best prayers I've ever prayed was standing 27 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:24.479 on my head. It doesn't matter how you now, I wrote a few 28 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:32.039 extra verses. I added these. Then Jonah said these all may be true 29 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:38.960 for each one of you, so use whichever one you wish. But as 30 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:45.000 for me, my best prayer came in the belly of a fish. It 31 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:51.120 was dark and wet and cold and scary, but my prayers raced like a 32 00:02:51.120 --> 00:02:55.080 comet. They streaked across the sky to God, and he made that big 33 00:02:55.080 --> 00:03:07.879 fish vomit. So when and how and where you pray are matters of private 34 00:03:07.960 --> 00:03:13.199 fashion. Just be sure that when you pray, you present your needs with 35 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:23.479 passion. All right, I think I'll stick to preaching, not poetry. 36 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:28.199 Okay, all right, here's the third thing you do when you are feeling 37 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:34.599 hopeless. You're gonna need this someday. You better write this down. Identify 38 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:40.879 the cause of my hopelessness. Identify the cause of my hopeless. Hopelessness is 39 00:03:40.919 --> 00:03:46.680 a vague feeling, and you can't deal with a vague feeling. You can't 40 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:51.639 work with a problem. You can't solve a problem. You can't even pray 41 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:58.120 about a problem until you identify the problem. You got to identify it. 42 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.599 You got to identify the cause of my hope. You can't counteract the feeling 43 00:04:03.159 --> 00:04:09.520 unless you name it. Have you ever had a general vague feeling of uneasiness 44 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.479 and you're feeling down, you're feeling hopeless, and you go, I don't 45 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:16.040 know why I feel this way. I don't know why. Well, you 46 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:20.800 can't work on it until you name it. When you name the feeling, 47 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:26.279 that in itself helps you get a handle on it. Anything you can't name 48 00:04:26.399 --> 00:04:30.480 is already out of control in your life. So if you got this vague 49 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:35.600 feeling of depression, or vague feeling of down or discouragement, or vague feeling 50 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:40.879 of hopelessness, you need to stop and go what's really going on here? 51 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:47.439 What's behind this? You need to pinpoint the source. And this is what 52 00:04:47.639 --> 00:04:53.959 Jonah did you know? Years ago, I did a study of what causes 53 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:00.720 people to lose hope and I discovered I read extensively, literally everything I could 54 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:09.879 possibly read on hopelessness, and I discovered that they're about ten common causes of 55 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:15.079 hopelessness. Hopelessness isn't the problem. The problem is what's causing the hopelessness in 56 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:18.600 your life. And as interesting as I read Jonah's vivid description of what's going 57 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:25.160 through his mind is he's sinking down and he's praying this prayer and he's sinking 58 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:30.319 below the waves and he's swallowed by that fish. I discovered he illustrates a 59 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:35.319 bunch of those common causes of opuses. So for your benefit, I just 60 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.839 want to point them out. I want to read through part of Jonah's prayer 61 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:45.439 and I want us to pick out causes of hopelessness. Because then you'll know, 62 00:05:45.519 --> 00:05:47.879 Oh, this is what's really making me feel bad. It's not this 63 00:05:48.040 --> 00:05:53.639 vague sense of hopelessness. You can't work on it until you name it, 64 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:58.639 all right, So let me read verse three to six in Jonah Chapter two. 65 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:04.959 Jonah, this is his prayer. You God cast me into the deep 66 00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:13.480 water, and I sank to the bottom of the sea. Everything was churning 67 00:06:13.639 --> 00:06:20.319 around me, and I was engulfed by powerful waves that overwhelmed me. Then 68 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:26.839 I thought, I've been banished from God's presence and I'll never get to see 69 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:33.199 your holy temple again. I was scared to death, afraid I was drowning, 70 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:39.639 with water choking me and the seaweed wrapped all around my head. This 71 00:06:39.720 --> 00:06:45.959 is pretty graphic. I kept sinking down to the ocean floor, to the 72 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.519 mountains that rise off the ocean floor, and I felt locked in a prison 73 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:59.920 forever. Now, in that passage, he gives us eight common causes of 74 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.319 hopelessness. Now, I'm not going to spend a lot of time on these, 75 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:05.800 but I want you to check any one of these that you may be 76 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:12.800 feeling right now, because this could be a precursor to depression or hopelessness in 77 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:17.040 your life. Okay, So here are eight feelings that cause us to feel 78 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:23.279 hopeless, and Jonah mentions them all. Number one first feeling I'm in over 79 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:31.040 my head. Feeling that I'm in over my head. You know when you 80 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:36.759 feel like I don't have My situation exceeds my knowledge, My situation needs my 81 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:43.800 ability, the situation exceeds my finances. I'm in over my head. I've 82 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:48.000 been thrown into the deep end. Jonah says, you cast me into the 83 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:53.920 deep water. He's saying, I'm way out of my depth. I'm into 84 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:59.279 deep. I'm in deep trouble. When do you feel like you're in over 85 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:01.439 your head? That's going to cause you to feel hopeless. Number two feeling 86 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:07.800 I've hit bottom can cause hopelessess. Feeling I've hit bottom. I sank to 87 00:08:07.920 --> 00:08:11.360 the bottom of the sea. He said there was no way I could go 88 00:08:11.399 --> 00:08:16.480 any lower. I was at an all time low. And that when you 89 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:20.879 feel you can't go any lower, when you feel I have hit rock bottom 90 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:26.040 or the bottom fell out and I've gone even lower, I'm as low as 91 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:31.319 you can go. I've hit bottom. That's going to cause hopelessness. Third 92 00:08:31.399 --> 00:08:37.360 feeling job says, feeling out of control and powerless, feeling out of control 93 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:46.600 and powerless. He says in the next phrase, everything was churning circle that 94 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:50.879 churning around me. You ever felt like that everything was churning around you. 95 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:56.000 You feel out of control, and you feel powerless to change anything. You're 96 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:05.000 you're drifting without direction, motion without meaning. You've got activity without clarity, 97 00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:13.519 You've got pressure without purpose. You're just drifting around. Everything's churning around me. 98 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:18.320 I'm drifting around. I'm swept along by outside forces. You're all over 99 00:09:18.360 --> 00:09:24.120 the map. That's feeling out of control and powerless. Number four. Fourth 100 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:30.600 thing feeling overwhelmed. Feeling overwhelmed can cause you to be hopeless. I was 101 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:37.720 engulfed, Jonah says, by powerful waves that overwhelmed me. I'm in golf. 102 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.879 That means I'm helpless to change it. I'm engulfed. The powerful is 103 00:09:41.919 --> 00:09:50.639 so powerful, I'm overwhelmed by it. Number five feeling rejected or lonely. 104 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:56.519 Either of these could cause you to feel hopeless. Feeling rejected or feeling that's 105 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.840 the real cause of the hopelessness, not the hopelessness. He says. Then 106 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:07.879 I thought I've been banished from God's presence. A loneeness can cause hopelessness, 107 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:13.519 Jonah saying, I feel like God's a million miles away. I feel rejected, 108 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:18.559 I feel on my own. I feel alone. That can cause hopelessness 109 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:26.120 in your life. Number six feeling remorse and regret. You can use this 110 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:31.240 checklist with friends when you're helping them trying to figure out what's what's making them 111 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:37.919 feel so bad. Feeling remorse or regret, Jonah says, and I'll never 112 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:43.919 get to see your holy temple again. I'll never He's got He's filled with 113 00:10:43.960 --> 00:10:48.120 remorse, he's filled with regret. He knows the problem is his own fault. 114 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:52.559 He was running from God. You can run from God, but then 115 00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:58.000 you can't run anymore because you can run, but you can't hide. Down 116 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:01.279 here on the screens. On forty two, verse four, David says, 117 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:07.360 my heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be. That's a 118 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:13.720 cause for hopelessness. My heart is breaking for remembering how it used to be. 119 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:18.720 I feel remorse, I feel regret, I may feel I may feel 120 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:24.080 guilt because it was so good, but I ran from God. I ran 121 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:28.639 from God, and my heart's breaking as I remember how it used to be. 122 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:37.840 Number seven big cause of hopelessness feeling crushing fear. Feeling crushing fear, 123 00:11:39.720 --> 00:11:45.840 Jonah says, I was scared to death. I was afraid. I was 124 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:54.120 afraid. I was drowning with water choking me and seaweed wrapped all around my 125 00:11:54.279 --> 00:12:01.320 head. Circle that word choking. Did you know that the word were The 126 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:07.960 English word worry comes from the old English word worgan. You know what worgan 127 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:16.720 means to choke, to strangle. Worry has a strangling, choking feeling on 128 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:22.440 your life. It can choke the life of anxiety. Worry, fear can 129 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:26.639 choke the life out of it. They can choke the hope out of you. 130 00:12:26.519 --> 00:12:31.240 Feeling crushing fear. And the eighth thing he says is I was feeling 131 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:39.159 trapped. That's feeling trapped. I felt locked in a prison forever. Other 132 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:46.039 translations, I felt behind bars and somebody had thrown away the key. Now, 133 00:12:46.320 --> 00:12:50.600 as we go through that list, are you feeling any of these right 134 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:54.919 now? I meant over my head of hit bottom, feel out of control, 135 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:00.720 feel powerless, feel overwhelmed, feel lonely, I feel rejected, I 136 00:13:00.759 --> 00:13:05.759 feel remorse or regret, feel crushing fear, feel trapped. Only when you 137 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:09.039 name what you're feeling, Only when you identify what you're feeling. Can you 138 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:15.840 actually pray about it specifically? But once you know what's the cause of your 139 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.600 hopossess, then you can go to the next step, number four. Here's 140 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:24.720 number four. Ask God for specific help. Now you sink God, I'm 141 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:28.639 feeling out of control. God, I'm feeling regret. I'm feeling remorse. 142 00:13:28.679 --> 00:13:33.320 God, I'm feeling fear. God, I'm feeling trapped. God, I'm 143 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:37.840 feeling any of these things we just listed. You talk to God specifically about 144 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.080 those things. Be specific Jonah two, verse two. The second party says, 145 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.720 from the deep, from deep in the world of the dead, I 146 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:52.159 ask for help, and you listen to my cry. Now that deep in 147 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:56.200 the world could indicate that maybe he eventually died in that fish and was resurrected. 148 00:13:56.200 --> 00:14:00.559 We don't know. That's just a guess. Psalm fifty, verse fifteen. 149 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:03.720 God says, call to me in your times of trouble, and I 150 00:14:03.879 --> 00:14:11.759 will save you and you will honor me. So once I know what's the 151 00:14:11.879 --> 00:14:15.759 source, I've named what I'm really feeling. I does's have this vague feeling 152 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:20.720 of feeling bad. I know what's causing I know the thorn. Then I 153 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:26.240 begin to pray specifically. Now here's the key to asking for help. I 154 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:31.440 want you to write this down, pray the word of God. Write this 155 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.399 down, pray the word of God. What do I mean by that? 156 00:14:35.799 --> 00:14:43.360 I mean take scripture and say them back to God. This is what Jonah 157 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:50.960 did to get his miracle. Jonah clearly is well versed in the Bible, 158 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:58.960 because in this very short prayer he prays eight different scriptures. Everything he said 159 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:05.919 is a quote from Psalms. He's eight times he quotes Psalms. He's just 160 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:11.440 quoting what other people have complained about in the Bible. Now, it's a 161 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:16.480 whole lot better to pray the Bible back to God. God loves to hear 162 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:18.879 his words prayed back to him. He said, well, what should I 163 00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:24.279 pray? Write these down? Three things you should pray. Pray the complaints 164 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:28.519 to God. Pray the complaints of the Bible to God. Everything Jonah just 165 00:15:28.600 --> 00:15:33.960 prayed is actually in the book of Psalms. He's just saying I felt this 166 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:37.960 way, I felt this way. He's quoting David. You wouldn't know that 167 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:43.759 unless you knew scripture. But you pray the complaints to God. So when 168 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:50.039 you read one of those lamentation verses or chapters or psalms. You can go 169 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.279 God, this is my prayer, and you pray to God. God, 170 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:56.559 I am angry with you right now. You pray the complaints to God. 171 00:15:56.879 --> 00:16:00.559 Laments as I said, they're in job, They're in psalms, they're in 172 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:06.120 lamentations, the Book of Lamitations. Number two. Pray the truth about God. 173 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:10.879 That's the second thing. Pray the complaints of God. Pray the truth 174 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.600 of God about God. God. You're a good God. God. You're 175 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:18.240 a gracious God. God. You're a just God. God, You're a 176 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:23.679 fair God. You pray what the Bible says about God. Back to God. 177 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:29.759 Okay, God, here's my complaints. They're in the Bible. Here's 178 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:32.559 what the Bible says about you. That's in the Bible. And then the 179 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:37.440 third thing, you pray the promises of God. God, you promised to 180 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.720 do this. Now keep your word. I can't tell you how many times 181 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.480 in prayers I've said, God, I need you to keep your word. 182 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:48.159 God, I need you to do what you've promised to do. You have 183 00:16:48.240 --> 00:16:52.000 promised right here, and I'll say the promise if I've got it, memorize 184 00:16:52.039 --> 00:16:55.519 you have promised to do this. God. I need you to keep your 185 00:16:55.559 --> 00:17:00.000 word, pray the complaints of the Bible, pray the truth of the Bible, 186 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:04.880 and pray the promises of the Bible. Number five. Fifth thing you 187 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:12.279 do. Focus on the goodness of God to me. When everything looks dark, 188 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:17.640 when everything I can't see ahead, there's a fog, it's shrouded. 189 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:21.519 I can't see the future. It's pitch black, there's no light at the 190 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:26.680 end of the tunnel. I focus on the goodness of God to me. 191 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.319 And what I'm gonna have to do is I'm gonna have to mentally shift my 192 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:34.279 mind. When I'm hopeless. I'm going to have to choose to stop thinking 193 00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:37.400 about the things that are making me feel hopeless. And I'm gonna have to 194 00:17:37.480 --> 00:17:42.720 choose to change the channel of my mind and start thinking about the things that 195 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:47.759 I can be. I know for sure they're gonna lift my spirit. The 196 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:51.400 goodness of God, how he's been good to me in the past, how 197 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:53.240 He's promised to be good to me in the future. And on an app 198 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:57.599 in verse seven, Jonah says this, when I had lost all hope, 199 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:03.920 I turn my thoughts once more to the Lord. Friends, that's the answer 200 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:10.720 to hopeless us right there, when I had lost all hope. I turned 201 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:15.880 my thoughts once more to the Lord. I turned back to the goodness of 202 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:21.240 God and the greatness of God, and the power of God, and the 203 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:23.680 love of God, and the fairness and the justice of God, and the 204 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:29.079 kindness of God. I turned my thoughts once more to the Lord, and 205 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:32.240 in my earnest prayer and my earnest prayer went out to you in your holy 206 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:36.200 temple. He's talking about heaven. Now, you know, the Bible, 207 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:38.839 in the Old Testmen's written in Hebrew. But the Greek word for turning your 208 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:45.279 thoughts is the word metanoia. You know what that word is. It's the 209 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:52.119 word for repent. Repentance simply means to turn your thoughts. That's all it 210 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:56.680 means. Repentance does not mean stop doing bad stuff. Repentance means change your 211 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.039 mind, turn your thoughts, think about it in a different way. Look 212 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:04.799 at life from God's viewpoint instead of my own viewpoint. Look at the goodness 213 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:10.440 of God, not the problems in my life. I turn my thoughts metanoia. 214 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:15.640 I repent. When you feel hopeless, you need to change the channel 215 00:19:15.680 --> 00:19:18.480 of your mind. You need to change your focus. You look at your 216 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:22.680 problems. You'll be distressed. You look within, you'll be depressed. You 217 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:25.720 look at Christ, you'll be at rest. All depends on what you're looking 218 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:32.039 at. You look at the world, you'll be distressed. Look around, 219 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:37.200 you'll be distressed. You look within, you'll be depressed. You look at 220 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:41.119 Christ, you'll be at rest. All depends on what you're focused on. 221 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:47.759 You change the channel. When I had lost all hope, I turn my 222 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:52.680 thoughts once more to the Lord. What a beautiful verse. You need to 223 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:59.119 memorize that verse. You need to take it home, write it on a 224 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:03.759 card, and you need to doe Jonah two seven by heart. Everybody who's 225 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:08.480 listening to the Sign of My Voice should memorize that verse because one day you're 226 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:12.160 going to be driving a car and you're in an accident and you think this 227 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.680 is the end, and you'll say, and when I had lost all hope, 228 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:21.119 I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord, And that verse will 229 00:20:21.160 --> 00:20:23.920 be there for you. It can't help you if you don't hide it in 230 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:29.359 your heart. The Bible has all of the things to get rid of your 231 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:34.480 hopelessness, you just don't know where they are. And if you've poured over 232 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:41.119 this verse like Jonah did, he knew the psalms so well that when he's 233 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:47.440 drowning, he can quote eight different psalms from memory. And he's quoting the 234 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.839 goodness of God, and he's quoting the complaints of David, and he's quoting 235 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:56.480 the promises that are going to save him. Can you do that? That's 236 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:03.480 God's way of getting out of hopelessness. You need to start thinking about God's 237 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:07.960 word instead of thinking about your worries. If you're thinking about your worries, 238 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:11.920 it's just going to be swirling down, down, down down. If you're 239 00:21:11.920 --> 00:21:15.480 thinking about God's word, it's going to be going up up up, Look 240 00:21:15.559 --> 00:21:22.119 up when you hit bottom. Now, one of the psalms that Jonah remembers 241 00:21:22.119 --> 00:21:26.480 and quotes is actually Psalm twenty seven. Look up here on the screen. 242 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:33.240 Jonah says, I would have despaired, I guess so, unless I had 243 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:38.160 believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord, I would have been 244 00:21:38.200 --> 00:21:47.480 in despair. Unless I had believed, I'm going to focus on the goodness 245 00:21:47.519 --> 00:21:51.880 of God. God's goodness to me. When I lost all hope, I 246 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:55.039 turned my thoughts once more to God. God, You're a good God. 247 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:59.960 This is not a good situation, and it's my fault. I recognize it. 248 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.559 It's my fault. I'm here because I was running from you. It's 249 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:07.799 my sin that caused this pain, this problem. I know it. But 250 00:22:07.880 --> 00:22:14.119 You're still a good God even when I'm not good, and I will turn 251 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:18.200 my thoughts to the Lord. I would have the spirit unless i'd believe that 252 00:22:18.200 --> 00:22:19.759 I would see the goodness of the Lord. You know this verse that I 253 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:23.960 just read you, You just know it. In the New International Version, 254 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:26.599 we sing it all the time. Look out up here on the screen, 255 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.880 here's the same word. The Lord is my Light and salvation. Whom shall 256 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:36.759 I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life? Of whom shall 257 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:41.799 I be afraid? I will remain This is verse thirteen. I will remain 258 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:45.440 confident to this. I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land 259 00:22:45.480 --> 00:22:48.799 of the living. He was anywhere but the land of the living when he's 260 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:56.200 praying that prayer. I remember quoting that verse standing out in front of my 261 00:22:56.319 --> 00:23:00.160 son's home when my youngest son, Matthew, lost his battle with mental illness 262 00:23:00.160 --> 00:23:07.680 and took his life. It was the worst day of my life, and 263 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:15.839 I remember saying, the Lord is my Light and salvation. Who shall I 264 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:22.680 fear? Who shall I be afraid? I will remain confident of this. 265 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:29.119 I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the Living. 266 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:36.799 He will not return to me, but I will return to him one day. 267 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:42.319 Regardless of what you're going through, God's purpose, God's grace, God's 268 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:48.000 mission for your life is greater than the problem you were going through right now. 269 00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.799 I will remain confident of this. When I had lost all hope, 270 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:56.759 I once again turned my thoughts to the Lord. As I said earlier, 271 00:23:56.839 --> 00:24:03.960 you need to memorize that verse. Even when the problem is your fault. 272 00:24:03.039 --> 00:24:10.799 It was Jonah's fault. He got himself into that mess. That didn't stop 273 00:24:10.839 --> 00:24:21.039 the grace of common You know, people are being transformed by these messages. 274 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:25.319 In fact, here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners. Today, 275 00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:27.839 I want to share a testimony from Ella, who listens to Daily Hope 276 00:24:27.839 --> 00:24:33.359 in Canada, and she started listening to our broadcast during COVID nineteen pandemic. 277 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.960 She wrote, Pastor Rick, like so many, I found every area of 278 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:41.680 my life flipped upside down when the pandemic hit in twenty twenty. I graduated 279 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:45.200 from the university in April that year and I was lost and desperate for guidance. 280 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:51.440 Yet as stubborn as I was, I searched for answers everywhere else except 281 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:56.039 in God's Word. But out of desperation, I read the purpose Driven Life 282 00:24:56.720 --> 00:25:02.519 and I started listening to Daily Hope. Daily Hope was one of the resources 283 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:07.880 that became monumental in my journey to giving my life to Christ a year after 284 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.680 I started listening. And so I want to thank you, and I want 285 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:17.720 to thank everyone at Daily Hope for all the work that you do. It 286 00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:19.799 must seem so abstract when people you reach are all over the world, but 287 00:25:21.319 --> 00:25:23.400 I know I'm not alone. And saying that Daily Hope has helped me find 288 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:30.640 comfort and God when I needed it most. Wow, Ella, thank you 289 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.920 so much. Thank you for writing. Thank you for telling me that you've 290 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:37.839 accepted Christ. You know, I know so many people who are just like 291 00:25:37.920 --> 00:25:42.079 you. They're lost, they're looking for answers, and they keep looking everywhere 292 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:47.480 but in the right place, God's word for the truth. But praise God, 293 00:25:47.920 --> 00:25:51.279 you found the word of God. You believed his word, and you 294 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:55.480 believe that Jesus is the truth. So it's a blessing, it's a blessing 295 00:25:55.559 --> 00:26:00.799 to know that God is using this broadcast to help bring you and other people 296 00:26:00.039 --> 00:26:03.920 to Him on a daily basis. Now, you mentioned that it must be 297 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.359 unusual to reach people around the world even though I'm not able to meet him 298 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:10.839 face to face, and I'd like to say this, I wish I could 299 00:26:10.880 --> 00:26:14.200 meet everybody face to face. I wish I could take every one of you 300 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:18.640 out to a corner restaurant, sit down and have a cup of coffee and 301 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:22.759 just let me hear your life story. I would nothing would make me feel 302 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:26.839 happier than doing that. But that's why I'm blessed to receive letters. Please 303 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.759 write me, Please tell me your story. I want to know how God 304 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:34.799 is changing your life, how God is using his word through Daily Hope to 305 00:26:34.880 --> 00:26:40.160 make a difference in you. So let me know what God's doing in your 306 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:44.279 life. Let me know how He's using Daily Hope to help you in your 307 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:48.920 Christian walk, and that way we can pray intelligently for you. If you'd 308 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.319 like to bless Pastor Rick by letting him know how much this broadcast has helped 309 00:26:52.359 --> 00:26:57.599 you, please send him an email at Rick at pastorick dot com. That's 310 00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:03.519 Rick at pastor dot com. We hope you'll join us next time when we 311 00:27:03.559 --> 00:27:07.640 look into God's Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor 312 00:27:07.720 --> 00:27:11.240 Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.