Put Your Hope in God: Life.Church Midweek with Craig Groeschel

Title

Put Your Hope in God

Scripture References

• Psalm 43:5 – “Why, my soul, are you downcast… Put your hope in God.”
• Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Main Information and Key Points

• I shared an article’s definition of hope: Desire + Probability = Hope. When my desire is strong but the probability of it happening feels low, hopelessness sets in.
• The psalmist’s honest question, “Why so downcast?” mirrors my own moments of emotional fatigue during quarantine. Yet he counsels himself—“Put your hope in God”—reminding me that hope is ultimately rooted in God’s character, not in changing circumstances.
• Psalm 37:4 calls me to “delight” in the Lord. The Hebrew word anog paints a picture of becoming soft and pliable before God. As I enjoy His presence, He reshapes my heart and plants His own desires within me.
• When I seek God first, my hopes shift from temporary comforts (“life back to normal”) to kingdom desires—Christ-like character, the fruit of the Spirit, and opportunities to reflect His glory.
• Therefore, true hope is not the likelihood that I will receive what I want, but the certainty that God is good, sovereign, and actively forming His purposes in me.

Personal Reflection and Application

• Today I will pause and ask, “Where is my hope anchored—circumstances or Christ?”
• Practically, I can delight in the Lord by worshipping, meditating on Scripture, and serving others with the irrational generosity our church has modeled (digital missions, COVID-19 relief, supporting local churches).
• When discouragement resurfaces, I will speak to my soul as the psalmist did: “Put your hope in God; He is my Savior and my God.”

Prayer and Blessing

I closed by inviting anyone who feels far from God to call on the name of Jesus—the sinless Son of God who died and rose again so we could be made right with the Father. My prayer focus: that we experience His grace, anchor our hope in Him, and shine His light as the Church, whether our buildings are open or not.

Summary

In a season when probabilities feel uncertain, I’m reminded that lasting hope grows from delighting in the Lord. As I soften before Him, He plants His desires in my heart, and those desires are certain to be fulfilled. So I choose to redirect my anxious questions into confident worship: “Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.”