In Need of Hope
Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 19:1-18
He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life.”
Our community was shocked recently when a 21-year-old man shot himself. On the outside, he seemed to have it all together. He had good health, a girlfriend, a home, friends, and a family. He had completed high school and was set to make a difference in the world.
But internally he must have been suffering and struggling. We can only wonder how he may have wrestled with disillusionments or disappointments.
In 1 Kings 19 we find the great prophet Elijah in the desert. He had come to a place of hopelessness. From this place of emptiness and depression, Elijah turned to God in prayer. He did not take his own life, but asked God to take his life for him.
However, God met him in that place and sent an angel to help him. Elijah received some desperately needed food and rest, and when he was fortified, he traveled for forty days to the mountain of God. There God revealed to Elijah some more plans he had for him.
Sometimes we may feel that we are at the end of our rope. As we struggle in life, it is critical that we seek God’s face. He alone can give us hope and direction. Nothing can separate us from his love. Nothing!
Father, we grieve over loss of life and situations of hopelessness in this world. We are hungry for direction from you. By your Spirit and your Word, show us your will and give us hope, we pray. Amen.
About the author — John Kuperus
Since he was young, John Kuperus has had a passion that everyone would know Jesus. Spreading the good news that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15) is very important to him. To be better equipped for missions, John attended Reformed Bible College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He applied these skills with marketplace evangelism in a business he started in Sussex, New Jersey. This calling continued to follow him, so John attended seminary and became a minister in the Christian Reformed Church, serving a church in Ontario for eight years. Currently he serves as a missionary for Youth with a Mission (YWAM). He witnesses Jesus changing lives as people walk out of the darkness into the light. John is married to Helen, and they have seven children.
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