Does "hopeless" mean "I can't receive hope?"

“Yeah, whatever.” That is the response I seem to get when I offer the only hope I know to the hopeless. My recent encounter is the same as many I have had. Someone calls me, desperate to talk about the tragedy in his life. He can’t see a way out. He feels trapped in his feelings of betrayal, loneliness, and flat out hopelessness. I struggle to answer him.

 
Do I tell him everything is going to be okay? If he believed that, he wouldn’t be feeling hopeless in the first place. Besides, he is already firmly convinced that “okay” means everything back the way it was. How could I possibly promise that?
 
Do I tell him that time will heal his wounds? What a farce. For some of us time gets us to a place of bitterness and resentment and sometimes even evil.
 
The only thing I can offer is the hope that I have.   I don’t have all the answers, but the one thing I hold on to is Jesus. I count on the fact that the same Jesus who gives me a purpose, offers me forgiveness, and corrects me as I fail will also help this man who is hurting. So I ask him, “Where does Jesus fit in for you?”
 
The silence is deafening.
 
I would love to think that I “planted a seed.” I would love to think that he will ponder it, reflect, and maybe some day take some steps toward Christ. But I suspect that as often has been the case that he simply had a wall of defensiveness that rose up between him and me. I can hear thoughts now: “There goes Bill with his religious stuff. He doesn’t understand me at all. Church is not the answer to my problem. This distant God, even if he does exist, has nothing to offer me in this real life situation. Yet, I don’t want to be rude to Bill, so what do I say?”
 
Okay, I know that it requires the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives to affect anything of importance. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t reflect on how I can best be used of God, or use it as an excuse to do whatever and not think about the consequences. So my question is how do we offer hope to the hopeless? What can we say or do to offer them a chance at the only hope I know, Jesus?
 
Some thoughts that come to mind:
  1. I have a much better shot with those with whom I have already proven my love for. If I have been there in meaningful ways, if they have gotten to know me, if they can’t say “Bill doesn’t know me,” then I earn the right to be heard about the hope of Jesus.
  2. Maybe it is a factor of numbers. If one hundred people call me and I offer the only thing I can give, maybe a certain percentage of those can hear it without defensiveness.  Perhaps it is just a matter of faithfulness on my part and leave whatever results up to God.
  3. I just stink at the emotional stuff.   If someone really needs to talk about deep feelings maybe I should just send them to someone else, because I am not equipped to speak to deep emotional hurts.
  4. 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

Thanks for this blog.  Jesus

Submitted by pkrueger on Wed, 2009-04-01 14:16.

Thanks for this blog.  Jesus is there so hopeless is not our characteristic, but hopeful.  Not a false hope of outside help, but real hope of inner healing and strength.  Hope in divine intervention and opening of our eyes to see a way to conquere life's difficulties.  Sounds impossible as I write this, but it is the truth.  Has to be experienced to understand.  It requires a step of faith.

Penny