How Hope Can Overcome Challenges

Hope comes when we remember that God is greater than any challenge we face. Hope is how you overcome challenges.

This is what the Lord Almighty says: Give careful thought to your ways.

HAGGAI 1:7

Do you ever get overwhelmed by a challenge in life that feels too big to overcome? The Israelites were returning from exile in Babylon. They started rebuilding the temple for God because it had been destroyed by the Babylonians. They began their work but then hit the pause button for 16 years. Instead of serving God, they focused on themselves, building their own homes while neglecting God’s house. They were stuck in a spiritual dead-end and needed help to get beyond some of their hurdles. They needed help to overcome challenges which kept them from doing what God instructed.

Can you relate to their struggle? Johann Sebastian Bach was a composer who relied on God. His music was an expression of his faith, and He knew that God gave creativity and inspiration. Artists, like everyone else, can face major obstacles in their labor. Many accounts describe how he literally wrote INJ (In Nomine Jesu-In the name of Jesus) and SDG (Soli Deo Gloria- For the glory of God) on his compositions.

In the majority of his works, he sought God; may we have the same motives in our endeavors. Bach met with God in prayer and wrote beautiful music with a purpose to glorify God. In the same way, we can bring our work, our talents, and our ideas before God and receive His guidance. We can bring our struggles, our shortcomings to God so he can help us overcome challenges.

Hope comes when we remember that God is greater than any obstacle we face, and His grace gives us a supply of hope far beyond our own resources.

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Excerpt republished with permission from Rooted in Grace by Jesse Bradley c. 2012