Finding Hope in a Troubled World: The Cross Lights the Way

By Rev. Dr. Lloyd G. Fennell

When hope is lost, this author believes that the Cross Lights the Way to eternal life. Romans 15:13. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It is the goal of this author to project a living hope of the fulfillment of all the promises presented in the gospel. The hope of His calling. (Ephesians 1:18;4:4)

In our fallen and corrupted world when COVID-19 has continued to change the dynamics of social, physical, economic, and ecumenical interaction; and when many people are experiencing poverty, evictions, death, disasters, hunger, injustice, wars, and conflicting feelings and issues of uncertainties, we need a new projection of hope.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and save the crushed in spirit. See Psalm 34:17–18. It is the belief of this writer that God will hear your prayers and your cries, as you begin the process of rebuilding your life of overcoming your pain, fears, and disbelief due to the loss of your mother, your father, your child, or a member of your family or some dear friend due to COVID-19.

Recovery to a new life is not easy when your dreams are shattered and when not an earthly soul will listen to your cries, but there is hope. Yes, it is the living hope in Jesus Christ when you focus your eyes on the cross. Jesus claims that he is your only link between you and God the father. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781639610204

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Finding Hope in a Troubled World

The Cross Lights the Way

Rev. Dr. Lloyd G. Fennell

Copyright © 2021 by Rev. Dr. Lloyd G. Fennell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Finding Hope in a Troubled World Is Physical, Mental, and Spiritual in Nature

Prayer Is Our Missing Link to Finding Hope

Faith Is a Gift of Hope in God

Finding Hope in My Father’s House

Forgiving Those Who Hurt

The Seeds of Hope

Finding Hope Instead of Despair

Crying Out for Hope

Hope and the Exodus of Our Youth

Giving Hope to Our Senior Citizens

Hope for the Brokenhearted

John 3:16: Love Is the Eternal Flame of Hope

Jesus Christ Is Our Living Hope

Conclusion

To my four grandchildren—Nicolas, Matthew, Elijah, and Elias—be strong in hope and, by the grace of God, be faithful to each other.

—Pop Pop

Preface

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

—1 Peter 1:3

They have tested me, and they have lied about me and have robbed me of my resources. Some have forgotten the care and needs of my family in the time of trouble, but when I think about the goodness of the Lord, my soul rejoices to the hymn writer of It Is Well with My Soul.

It is the belief of this writer that when the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted when we recognized that the cross lights the way to a living hope.

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus called his followers to take up their cross and follow him; and because of his atoning sacrifice on the cross, those who placed their faith and trust in him alone for salvation were guaranteed for eternal life. (See John 1:29.)

Therefore, when all my dreams are shattered, when family members and loved ones have passed on to glory and there is no one there to share my loneliness and fear, and when I bow my head in prayer, in him my burdens are lifted.

When my hopes are shattered and nothing goes as planned, the wind begins to blow, and the windows are rattling, and the rain begins to fall and there is no one there to hear or to take my call, it is time to take up my cross and take my daily walk with Jesus.

God has promised that I will never leave you nor forsake you. I must be strong and be courageous. Therefore, it is impossible to conceive of anything other than the Word of God that will become the foundation of this book.

Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burden, and I will give you rest if you will come after him (Matthew 11:28).

The Spirit and the faith of God within me will guide me in finding hope in this troubled world. The hope that I search for must become a conscious experience of my existence in this world that my resurrected King will guide me to the path of finding hope. The hope we seek is never changing. He is only the inhabitance and Creator of our environment. Therefore, finding hope in a troubled world is an autosuggestion process by the individual who seeks to find hope.

Since a process of finding hope could be either conscious or unconscious, depending on my faith, mental or spiritual, it is my belief that the Word of God is the law and that God is a Spirit, and they who worship him must worship him in Spirit and in truth. In the end, it is my expectation that his invisible spirit will always be made manifest in my loneliness and fears.

Finding Hope in a Troubled World is a personal endeavor to stick to the fight when I am hardest hit with struggles and adversities. It is an attempt to remember who I am, where I am going, and who my Creator is.

Finding Hope in a Troubled World is a reminder that our God feels our pain, even in the depths of our despair and knowing that the road that I am treading seems all uphill, that hope is always near when the cross lights the way.

Therefore, we can find hope when we learn to shift our spiritual vision outside of ourself and toward others and to understand that whatever you are feeling, God understands what you are going through. Putting our trust in God can be a tremendous act of mercy, knowing that in the final hour on the cross, Jesus himself felt abandoned by God.

In our troubled world, a compassionate act of kindness can bring comfort and security in the promises of God. Our Bible tells us that when we are discouraged, we are to put our hope in Christ, and in him, we will find refuge.

Therefore, if the troubles of this world seem all uphill, with its twists and turns, and you are experiencing disbelief, anger, guilt, fear, and loneliness at every turn, just remember these words from the psalmist David to Solomon, his son, Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you.

Finally, the apostle Peter wrote, Blessed are the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (Peter 1:3–4).

The apostle Peter is answering the question, Is there someone that I can turn to when there is no one else to care? Peter is saying to me, today, yes, there is someone who is willing to listen to me when my life is in despair.

That when my dreams are shattered, I can still find hope in this troubled world because he lives. In addition, whatever I am feeling, God understands what I am going through, and he is the answer when my life is nothing but a broken vessel.

In addition, If you only knew what a wonderful gift God has for you, would ask Him for a drink of the Living Water? In Him, we can Find Hope. He is ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest? (Matthew 11:28).

In addition, the apostle Paul, in Hebrews 6:19–20, reminded us that the believer’s living hope is solid and secure through Jesus Christ our Savior. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure Christ Jesus.

Giving up has never been a choice for me. Over the years, I have learned that the hope I am expecting is a process that includes sufferings and hardships, with the understanding and belief that God has a plan for my life.

Furthermore, I am aware that trouble is a common issue that is all around us in different forms and at different times of our life. Therefore, the use of the pronoun I, we, and us is my way of trying to remember some of the scriptures that I have found to be my guiding light that guide me to a better place in life.

The apostle Paul wrote, We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh so, death works in us, but life in you (2 Corinthians 4:8–12).

Today, if we are willing to accept the invitation of Jesus, who said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28), we should be able to let go of our anger, our resentment, our guilt, our pain, and our fears of this world and turn it over to the one who created us in his own image and likeness and find hope in the living Christ.

The psalmist wrote, When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:17–18).

The truth is God is not our problem. Humankind is the problem. Our God is good, and he is a great God. He is the Creator of heaven and earth and all things therein. In the beginning God— (Genesis 1:1).

Our troubles started in the beginning with Adam and Eve. Adam is the father of the human race, and Eve is the mother. God created Adam in his own image, placed him in the garden of Eden, and gave him all that man could desire to make him happy.

Our great God, who came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, knows the pain that comes when death separates us from our loved ones. To find hope in a troubled world, we must first accept the fact that this same Jesus Christ is here to assure you that this separation is not permanent, and he says to all who trust in him, I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is now extending his arms to you in love and waiting to embrace you and to bring healing to your broken heart.

In the garden of Eden, God commanded Adam as to what to do and what not to do. God told Adam the danger of what would happen if he disobeyed God’s command. The first time that Adam was left alone, he disobeyed God’s Command.

Adam disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. And immediately, he died spiritually, and finally, he died physically. And so our world is full of trouble, and only God can teach you the way of finding hope.

Because of our sins, we have come short of the glory of God; it is only through his redeeming quality that we find hope in this troubled world.

The Apostle Paul cried out, But God! God, because of his great love and mercy, even when we were hopeless and hell bound, provided for us a great and glorious salvation.

God is a great God. It was a divine necessity that God be great in order to love sinners, and that is our hope. Herein is love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10).

God has done all that he can do for us. He gave his best. All that he asks sinners to do in order to be saved is to receive his gift, his Son, Jesus. In addition, when we receive Jesus, he is our hope in a troubled world.

The key to finding hope in a troubled world is that we must first originate through a living Christ sent from heaven to be among men and continue through his death and resurrection and his ascension