Always Hope

Ezra 10:2 KJV

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

  

Israel found themselves in a sad and difficult strait. They had ignored the Word of God and in such a manner as could not be easily remedied. They had taken strange wives and some of them had produced children by them. Times were different and correcting this sin had no simple and quick fix. There would be pain and there would be life long consequences because of this disobedience to God.

But there was hope. God's mercy was still active and God's blessing was still possible.

People find themselves in a similar situation today. The Word of the Lord has been ignored and the consequences of generations of sin cannot be quickly wiped away. In some cases the price of the sin can extend for generations into the future. It might look to some as if there is

• No light and the end of the tunnel
• No chance of turning things around
• No possibility of restoration.

I see it in families.

I also see it in our national circumstances.

• Our country has turned from the Lord for so long that we can't even agree on what it means to be a Christian
• Our national debt is so huge it doesn't look like it can ever be paid
• Our standing in the world is so weak that we are at least no longer an economic super power
• Our choices for president this year are pathetic

But there is hope because there is God.

• He is the light when no light exists
• He is the potential when all resources are exhausted
• He is the possibility when there is no possible means of victory

 There is hope because there is God.