Put Your Hope in God Psalm 62:5, NIV “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” Introduction Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Put Your Hope in God.” Modern science has made remarkable progress. Robotics with artificial intelligence was developed which will soon replace human labor in many industries. People expect that the upcoming era of genetic engineering will allow mankind to overcome the problem of food shortages with genetically-manipulated growth of animals and plants. The advancement of medicine in the field of organ transplants extends our life expectancy in a healthy state. Today our Social and Cultural Environments provide us with all the necessities for a relaxed and comfortable life. Nevertheless, people are always discontent. We will not find any satisfaction in putting our hope in parents, siblings, relatives, friends, neighbors, or the government. We are to put our hope in God when we become disappointed with our circumstances. With nothing in the world can we content ourselves except being in our God’s arms through believing in Christ. 1. God’s plan First, we need to know God’s plan for us. So many people in this world are living without knowing what God has planned for them. Genesis 28 tells us the story of Jacob. He had deceived his own father and brother to receive Esau’s birthright-blessing. His brother, Esau was burning with rage. And out of fear Jacob fled from his brother to his uncle Laban’s home. On the run he had to spend nights in remote places. One dark night, resting his head on a stone, he slept under the stars. His heart was full of fear and despair. But an angel of God appeared to him in a dream that night. The way toward heaven was shown to him who was in deep despair. He was isolated since he betrayed his father and brother. Out of rage his brother even planned to kill him. By the help of his mother he was on his way to his uncle. He fell into despair. Anxiety and fear overcame him. In time of trouble he slept, resting his head on a stone, in the open air. Jacob saw a stairway to heaven with angels ascending to heaven and descending back to earth. He might have realized that even though the world became full of despair, still, heaven is open wide. From the place where he rested his head he saw a stairway to heaven with the Angels of God ascending and descending on it. Humans live not by their own power and strength alone. In heaven above, there is God who takes care of us. Every one of us is facing tribulation and trials. So many times we get discouraged because of anxiety, fear and despair. But whenever we face difficulties we should not look down at where we are, but look up to heaven where God has opened the windows of heaven toward us. In time of trouble we should look up instead of looking down below. Genesis 28:12-14 says, “He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the LORD, and he said: ‘I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.’ ” God spoke to Jacob about wonderful things. Great things were made known to him that he has never even dreamed of. He realized, “God is alive and He has a plan for me.” God continued to say, “‘I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.’ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.” (Gen. 28:15-19) A new beginning in Jacob’s life has started. Instead of anxiety, fear, frustration and despair; there was God above in heaven. When he looked up to heaven, it was opened and God was telling him that He had a plan for him. He could become confident in his heart. Even today God opens the door of heaven and shows us that He is there for us. We are not born to look on earth only, but to look up to heaven where our God reveals Himself, saying there is a plan for our lives. Jacob was so thankful for God’s provision in his life. Genesis 28:20-22 says, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.’ ” Psalm 33:11 says, “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Brothers and sisters! The Lord has a plan for you and me. We used to look down on earth and did not know who we are. But when we look up toward heaven, we can realize that God is there for us having great plans for each one of us. God is guiding us according to his plan. As God granted Jacob His blessing, He will bless us when we turn our eyes toward heaven instead of looking down on earth. Heaven is opened toward us. When we keep in mind what God has told us by reading and meditating on His commandments, his wonderful blessings will be revealed to us. How can we find the door of heaven? Have you ever seen heaven opened? Shall I show you? This is it. Please hold up your bible. This is the door of heaven. And it is opened! Through this bible, God is talking to you. Through this bible you can learn God’s plan for you. As the saying goes, “Daily reading of the bible will make you smart in two years and you will become very rich in five years if you keep doing so.” There is a better future for a man who keeps in mind God’s word by putting it into practice. God is there for him. God withholds nothing from us, but blesses us when we look up toward His throne in our daily lives. The God, who blessed Jacob, will bless you. Today we found God’s blessing in Jesus. When we are suffering trials and tribulations in the middle of our lives, we should wait for God by turning from our wrong doings and standing on His word. This is the life God wants us to live. As we look to God who is preparing a better life for us, finally we can realize that God’s plan for us is above and beyond our imagination. 2. When we face hardship Second, in our lives when we face hardship we should look to God, putting our hope in Him. We are to search for God confessing our transgressions, since it blocks the relationship between God and us. Psalm 32:5 says, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ - and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah” If we cover up our sins, we cannot be forgiven. Excuses bring no reconciliation. God dislikes making excuses. “I did wrong because of this woman.” “I did not want to do that but …” God would say, “Don’t make excuses but openly tell me what you did.” God wants us to be honest. When we humble ourselves, confessing, “Oh, God. I did wrong. I committed sins. Forgive me”; He will forgive us. Who can be free from sin? What our God wants is our honesty. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” In a time of trouble as we expect God’s grace, heaven must be opened. And we should repent of our sins against God. We have got to realize that there is a life which God has planned for us. He is watching us. “There is God’s plan for me and I must know about it.” God has chosen you since He’s got a plan for you. God did not pick you up on the street. Before the beginning of creation, He has seen and chosen you. He has been there having a plan for you. When we face difficulties we need to turn from the wrong way, knowing what a plan God wants to fulfill through us. In life if we rectify our faults according to God’s plan, God will grant us to see His glory. Psalm 123:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” “God! I believe you have a plan for me. In your sufficient grace let me see your blessing.” We are looking for God in our waiting time. We will never get discouraged when we look to God and wait for Him. Psalm 119:71 says, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” Sometimes we have learned the way of God after we went through difficulties and tribulations. At last we turned to God by living according to His will. 1 Peter 5:10 says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” You know, in order to make us strong, firm and steadfast sometimes God allows us to go through suffering for a little while. There is meaning in suffering. It is meaningful even when we go through suffering. God lets us seek His way through suffering. Because by knowing God’s will and worshiping God alone, we may learn the way to a fulfilled life. Every person and all people who worship the Lord will be blessed. More than anything, God pleases us when we obey His word. By keeping the word of God we will see His blessing upon us and upon a thousand generations after us - He promised so. But to know the word of God and to obey and to follow it, God lets us go through trials. Without knowing we were heading toward the world looking only at the earth, God wants us to look up toward heaven. Because there is an open door and there is God who is speaking to us, we are always to realize God’s will for us. When we get to know God’s will and when we keep it in our lives, we can overcome every obstacle no matter what circumstance we are in. 3. The result of putting our hope in God Third, as a result of putting our hope in God, our perspectives will be changed. Our thinking will be changed and we will start to see our lives from God’s perspective. When we change our direction through the bible from earth to heaven opened, we can live a whole new life. Since we look to God, how can we suppose to be the same? Since we read and meditate on the bible, how can we suppose to live without change? Everyone who looks to God will not be disappointed in this world. Their souls will be saved from death, from the tribulation of this world. They will inherit heavenly property. They will escape from anxiety and despair, because they became God’s joy. They will enter into God’s glory. We change the hopes and dreams of our lives while we are reading and meditating on the word of God. Psalm 62:5-8 says, “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah” Why do we put our hope in God? It is because God is our refuge and our fortress. He is the God who will surely save us from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He is the God who doesn’t let us fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. We are not ordinary people. While other people look down on earth, there is a heavenly door which is wide open before us. Those who do not have faith cannot see it. No matter what happens they focus on earthly things. But in all situations you can see God through heaven opened. You can focus on Him and converse with Him since you believe His word. God’s word will make us wise and enrich us in a few months if we read it daily. God is granting us not only a heavenly kingdom, but also blessing while we are living in this world. Our expectations and dreams about God will be changed. And we will live our lives by faith looking to God. We will change to live not by sight but by faith. Hebrews 10:38 says, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” As we look to God, He is with us. Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” You are not alone. God is with you, holding your hand. God is watching over you. He who takes care of you will not slumber nor sleep. When we read the bible and live with God, we change to speak in another fashion. Our words will be changed. We speak no more negativity, such as, “I can’t do it. There is no way. I’ll fail.” Because God is with us we can speak positively always. How can we suppose to live with God with negative attitudes? Because of God’s presence we can expect a bright future dreaming of better days. We cannot fall into despair because of God. Because God is there for us, we can dream and hope with confidence. We can believe because of God. Now God’s presence changes our speaking to, “I can do it. I’ll live. I’ll have victory. I’m blessed. Hallelujah! I’m healthy.” We can live speaking about the better person God has created us to become. There is wonderful power in dreaming. It brings change to one’s personal life, even to history and culture. When we look to God we are going to pray and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then change comes in the hopes and dreams of our lives. We can receive a dream expecting better days. “Tomorrow will be better than today, next month will be better than this month and next year will be better than this year.” We can dream that we will enjoy good health and all may go well with us, even as our souls are getting along well. What we hope and dream in God shall come to pass. See Jacob. He had a wonderful dream which he received through the opened heavens. God blessed him and promised that He will give him and his descendants the land on which he was lying. God promised him to be with him and to bless him wherever he goes. Jacob received this dream through the opened door of heaven. What would have happened if he had not looked to God through the heavenly door? He would have lived his whole life with fear and despair in the house of his uncle. But when he got the dream, he could come back home after 20 years and became greatly rich. This bible is a fountain of our dreams. Do not be disappointed thinking, “Oh, I’m not educated enough.” The bible is your best teacher. From the bible we get dreams. Go forward relying on God, praising and giving thanks then God, will work through you, who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. “’Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.’” (Psalm 91:14-15). In this God you believe. You know Him through the bible. You rely on Him through prayer. A wonderful life in the Lord is waiting for you. There is nothing and there is no one we can compare with Jesus. One day the Queen of England visited a widow’s house. The widow was famous for her faith in God. The Queen had visited often and became a friend of hers. One day she asked the widow, “Among visitors of your house, who had the highest position?” The Queen was expecting her to reply “Jesus”, but she answered “Oh, you have the highest position among visitors, Queen of England!” The Queen corrected her “Oh, no. You’re wrong. Jesus is the highest ranked visitor you have ever received.” Then the widow said, “Oh, Queen! Jesus is not a visitor. He is the Master of this house.” Yes. Jesus is the Lord. Today Jesus is within you as your Master. Therefore in our lives when we hold on to Jesus’ hand, and are enjoying talking to each other we will have a happy, glorious and victorious life in God. Conclusion We look to God when our own hopes and expectations begin to fade away. We meet God and are born again and begin to live a new life. God changes us so that our thoughts, dreams and language are each renewed with positive faith. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians. 5:17). Let us not look to the earth only, but lift our eyes upon heaven like Jacob did. When we put our hope in the Lord, we will see God through the windows of heaven and we’ll converse with Him. We will become renewed every day. Yes, we will never be the same. Let us pray. Father God! Thank you for coming to us. You have opened the door of heaven and sent Jesus to us in order to seek us. Thank you for giving us the bible, an opened way toward heaven. Now as we live we can lift our heads looking to heaven and talking with God. Father! Help us to live a life according to the bible as we read and meditate on it. Let us realize your grace, love and blessing in your commandments. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.