Rejoicings in Hope
~On Losing Hope

Posted by Susan Shipe on September 13th, 2010 in Blog | 10 Comments

“I cannot go through this again – I cannot!” I cried as I pulled the sheets up over my head hoping to block out the message I just received over the phone. My adult child was doing it again – the addiction to pain pills and alcohol once again reared its ugly head. Coming up for air, I cried to my husband, “I’m not going to church – you go without me!” My husband is a very easy-to-get-along-with man and rarely forceful, but this particular morning, he put his foot down, looked me square in the eyes and said, “Oh yes you are, get up out of that bed and get dressed.” I knew he was right, so I reluctantly got out of bed and began the very difficult task of preparing to go to worship.

My adult child had been in this addiction battle for four plus years – in and out of rehab – everyone in our family was affected by the bad choices being made. We were beginning to lose our hope. I knew one more bad decision could cost my child their life – I felt in my spirit that this phone call was the beginning of the end and I would be burying my child in our very near future. I was quickly losing my courage and hope in this situation. My heart was melting and becoming as water…

The seventh chapter of Joshua, in the Old Testament, records the story of an army losing hope. Moses had died and Joshua had taken his place as leader over the Israelites. Joshua’s charge was to take the lands of their enemies. His army had just celebrated a huge defeat over Jericho (remember the walls of Jericho came tumbling down!) and now they were told to take the land of Ai.

Joshua sent out several spies to see what was necessary for a victorious battle – the men came back confident and puffed up, reporting that only about two or three thousand troops would be needed, Ai’s defeat, in today’s terms, would be “a piece of cake.” To make a long story short, Joshua’s troops became scared and fled from the army of Ai and lost 36 men in their flight. The three thousand men, minus thirty-six of them, returned to home base discouraged, and the hearts of the people melted and became like water (Joshua 7:5 NKJV).

Joshua was devastated, he fell to the earth and tore his clothes…Joshua and his advisors had lost their hope.

Rather than tearing my clothes that Sunday morning four years ago, I got up, got dressed, and went to church. There was a guest speaker and praise and worship was good. Corporate prayer is when I fell apart – I was impressed to pray aloud. I cried out to the Lord for my child’s life and our small, close-knit church family undoubtedly felt my anguish and desperation.

Then, service was over and there I sat, glued to my seat, sobbing for my child. I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and a dear friend whispering, “Come on sis, we are going to do some binding and loosing in Jesus’ Name.” My friend prayed heaven down over the situation – we both cried out to the Lord for His grace and mercy.

Within two weeks my adult child and grandchild were on a train heading for our home. Within three weeks my adult child knew the difference between possessing Jesus Christ and only professing Him. My child has never looked back and has been “clean” for over three years, enjoying the forgiven life and embracing God’s grace every single day.

That April Sunday morning when my hope was waning, my faithful Father heard the cry of this mother’s heart and restored what my soul’s enemy had tried to steal away. My friend, hope is not just a word, it is a way of life…it is knowing and trusting the God of Hope with all that we have. Do you know Him today?

I encourage you to read Joshua chapters 6-7-8 for the full story of Joshua’s battles.