Holding On For Dear Life

1 TIMOTHY 1:1 - “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.”

[INVOCATION] In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

[PRAYER] Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.

[DEVOTION] We all reach a time in our lives that we are desperate. Maybe you’ve been there. Your brain starts racing for options. You struggle to grasp onto any last resource or strength you have left. What you have is quickly slipping, or has already left your grip. Is there any way, or point in trying, to take your next step? Have you lost all hope?

There are many areas that we experience such loss and helplessness. Sometimes it’s financial desperation. You not only have obligations and debt, but you have a spouse and children to feed. Possibly it’s an emotional struggle. It can seem like that roadblock in your path is a dead end to your journey. It seems as if your goals and dreams are now crumbling down around you. Have you received bad news from the doctor, been rejected by a lover, or maybe someone close to you has died? Have you lost all hope?

Have you ever had to fend for your life? Has your very breath been choked out of you to the point your eyes rolled up into the back of your head? Have you ever experienced such a hard blow that things went black and all you heard was ringing in your ears? I don’t know if you’ve ever been beaten so bad in a fight that you’ll do whatever necessary to ensure that you’ll never ever lose one again. I pray you’ve never been there. I pray you’ve never felt defeat and such hopelessness that you wondered if another would steal your ability to ever take your next breath.

No matter how hopeless we might ever feel emotionally or physically, it can never compare to our spiritual desperation. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that “The wages of sin are death.” And with the knowledge that “None are righteous” (Romans 3:10), we understand that every human on the planet is lost because of sin. As hard as we might struggle and fight, we cannot save ourselves. We would have no hope and the end would be dismal if it were not for Jesus. In our theme verse, Paul introduces himself as an apostle (one sent by God), and one who does have hope in Christ. We too, like Paul, have hope in Jesus because of His victory over death and sweet gift of faith that He brings to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. No longer do you have to be spiritually desperate. Know that you are loved, redeemed, and restored in Jesus. He has reconciled your relationship with The Father, and through Him we receive strength, eternal life, and never have to grieve as others who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).

[PRAYER] Eternal God, You are mighty and powerful. Compared to you we are weak and helpless. As individuals we fail and can do nothing that leads to eternal life. On our own, we have no hope. Yet, when you join us to Yourself as your children, we become a part of the Body of Christ and share in Your strength. Through the Holy Spirit, and because of the gift of Jesus, we are no longer in despair. We can be certain of the triumph over death that only You offer. Thank you God for turning our loss into gain, our weakness into strength, and our doubt into confidence.

[CLOSING] All this, and those things which we name silently in our hearts, we pray in the name of, and on account of, your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.