What if we told you that the hope you’re looking for can only be found in the person of Jesus? In this talk, Louie Giglio spurs us on to stop putting our hope in our circumstances and instead pursue and seek God who is always with us.
Key Takeaway
Our lives are about developing a relationship with God that is so substantial that it gives unshakeable hope when everything around us is uncertain.
Read Jeremiah 29:12-14.
God has a good and spacious place and space for you. But it's not about the place—it's about the person bringing you there. The hope isn't the destination, it's a person.
It's about a relationship with God that's so substantial and real that it gives us hope, unshakeable hope, when everything around us is uncertain.
If God asked you what you needed for this year, but He could only give you one thing, what would it be?
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
Psalm 27:4
What does gazing have to do with having hope?
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1
It is a person that is our light and salvation. Not our relationships, finances, gifts, experiences, or wisdom. God Himself is the stronghold of our lives.
For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.
Psalm 27:5
It's possible for us to know Jesus and be so connected to Him that no matter the circumstance, our hope does not fade.
When we look at Brother Lawrence's "The Practice of the Presence of God," we are encouraged to have constant communion with God. An infatuation with God and not just the things of God, such that it transforms our very state of being.
If we're truly going to practice pursuing the presence of God, we must:
1. Seek God's face more than His hand.
My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Psalm 27:8
If we're not careful, God can become utilitarian to us—only inviting Him in when we decide we need Him. But this isn't the relationship God is hoping for. He wants us to want Him, not just what He can do for us.
2. Make a paradigm shift from the Word of God to the God of the Word.
If we aren't careful, the Word of God becomes a book of truths and principles. Our focus may be on God's Word, but it should lead us to the God of the Word. It should move beyond simply the teachings of Jesus to the Jesus of the teachings. We don't want to have a nugget for today and miss Him.
We don't want to be like the guy with the newspaper—reading about the basketball team winning the NBA championship and not seeing that right behind his newspaper was that same team he was reading about.
Would things be different in our hope quotient if we didn't just look for a verse on hope but looked for Jesus?
Praise God for Biblical insight, but we want to have time with Jesus through His Word and see Him.
The God of all hope is in this place with you right now—in the hospital room, conference room, or in the lecture hall.
3. Embrace the greatest promise of God.
God's greatest promise to us is that He is with us.
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10
He tells us not to fear because He is with us.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20
He's sending us to take this story to the end of the age to see lives changed and empty graves.
He is with us, always, to the very end of the age.
The most powerful thing that God can tell you when you are in the valley of despair is—I am here.
Read Exodus 3:7-12.
How quickly hope deflated.
But the hope wasn’t in Moses or the rescue plan, that was the agent and the result. The HOPE was in the fact that God was going with them.
The situation might not change today, but He is here.
4. Constantly acknowledge Him.
“We should fix ourselves firmly in the presence of God by conversing all the time with Him...we should feed our soul with a lofty conception of God and from that derive great joy in being his."
— Brother Lawrence, "The Practice of the Presence of God"
The goal is converse with God all the time, in the majestic and the mundane moments. A constant conversation with the Almighty in the things we think that matter to Him and the things we think don't.
He wants You, and He wants to be in everything.
If you don't know He's here, you're missing it, and when the wind blows, your hope evaporates.
Read Psalm 23:4.
Make His name your first call.
5. Give your cares and dreams to Him.
When the one thing is moving into your heart, surrender everything to Him.
We can't fix anything when we are asleep, so we give God all of it. Name it. Start and end the day giving it all to Him.
6. Affirm His character by faith in every moment.
Gaze means to behold. We are to behold the beauty of the Lord.
God is "I Am," and "I Am" means "To Be"
To behold means to take hold of "Be."
Praise Him for His strength, His good plan, His Work. Affirm Him for His knowledge, trustworthiness, and safety.
Look at His facets and vast character, and as you see it, you call it out.
Your hope will become stabilized in the character of God.
”You should never go to God because He is useful. Go because He’s beautiful. And yet there’s nothing more useful than finding God beautiful.”
— Tim Keller
Discussion Questions
- If you're being honest with yourself, what is your hope in right now? If it isn't God, what is it?
- What is the one thing you're asking God for this year?
- If that one thing did not come to pass, would your hope be deflated? Why or why not?
- Has your connection with Jesus ever deflated because a prayer went unanswered? What did you learn from this experience?
- Would you say that you have constant communion with God, inviting Him into every moment of your life? If yes, how has that changed your life? If not, how can you start inviting Him into every moment?
- Have you ever found yourself studying the Word of God and returning with practical truths rather than growing your relationship with Him? How can you invite God into your study of the Word?
- Do you find yourself picking and choosing what you share with God based on your understanding of importance? Louie Giglio shares that God cares about all of it and wants to be in constant conversation with us. How does this shift your perspective of how you commune with God?
- We have a tendency to forget that God is with us. But God is with you right now, as you read this. What does knowing this change for you?
- What is one thing you can you surrender to Him before you go to sleep tonight and after you wake up tomorrow?
- Take a few moments to think about some characteristics of God. Then, share a few of these characteristics out loud, praising God for who He is.
Scripture References
