The ‘Real’ Cause of Hopelessness (and Hope)

So what really causes us to be hopeless?

Some would say it is because of our desire to change, but we can’t. Some would say we are hopeless because we don’t feel like we matter, that we don’t have a purpose in life. Some feel hopeless in a bad marriage, in a dead-end job.

Although all of these can cause us to feel hopeless, none of them are the real cause.

But if we remove all the layers and get to the heart of it all, there are two sources of hopelessness (and they’re connected). The two greatest sources of hopelessness in this life are sin and death.

1. SIN - The most hopeless thing about me is my sin. But if my hope is in Christ, I know He has cleansed me of my sin. There’s no more condemnation for me, and that means that sin can no longer steal my hope.

Paul says:

“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:8-11)

2. DEATH - God made life, but because of sin, death entered into the world. Sin brings death, but Christ gives life. And if Jesus did not raise from the dead, we are still dead in our sins, and there is no hope.

Furthermore, Paul says:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor. 15:17-22)

The kind of hope I’m talking about is not diminished by death. That’s because the hope that Jesus gives does not find its greatest importance in this life. My hope is rooted in eternity. What Jesus accomplished in life was only fully realized in his death and resurrection. That’s why His life gives us hope – hope that assures us we are forgiven in Him, saved in Him, and will live forever with Him.

Sin and death are the greatest sources of hopelessness in this life, and Jesus has defeated them both. Those who trust in Him have their sins forgiven, and the promise of our own resurrection from the dead and eternal life with Christ.

Because Jesus lives, I have hope, because through faith in His death and resurrection, I am given new life. I am given hope!