HOPE FOR THE HARD PLACE

 HOPE FOR THE HARD PLACE

Jeremiah 29:1-7

Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet

sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were

carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the

people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from

Jerusalem to Babylon. 2  (This happened after Jeconiah the king,

the queen mother, the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and

Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the smiths had departed from

Jerusalem.) 3  The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of

Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah

king of Judah sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar king of

Babylon, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of

Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have

caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build

houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.

6  Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for

your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may

bear sons and daughters—that you may be increased there, and

not diminished. 7  And seek the peace of the city where I have

caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for

it; for in its peace you will have peace.

Jer 29:11

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD,

thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a

hope.

Rom 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.

Hope is a reality that allows you to live now as if the promises are already fulfilled…

Who find themselves a prisoner:

• In a ministry assignment you don’t enjoy

• Forced to deal with difficult people

• Trouble in your marriage

• Difficult of unfulfilled job

• Raising difficult children

• Caring for elderly parents

• Having suffered betrayal in ministry

• Post Covid Ministry

I. Typical Responses to Tough Places

1. “Why Me?”

Exodus 3:9-11

Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel

has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression

with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10  Come now,

therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may

bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

11  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go

to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of

Israel out of Egypt?”

Moses WHINNING about his assignment.

2. “Not Me!”

Jonah 1:1-3

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of

Amittai, saying, 2  “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great

city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has

come up before Me.” 3  But Jonah arose to flee to

Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went

down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish;

so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with

them to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

3. “Poor Me”

1 Kings 19:1-4

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also

how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.

2  Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So

let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make

your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about

this time.” 3  And when he saw that, he arose and ran

for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to

Judah, and left his servant there. 4  But he himself

went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came

and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that

he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD,

take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

II. HOPE IN THE MIST OF DIFFICULTY

1. Remember that God put you there

v. 4 whom I have caused to be carried away from

Jerusalem to Babylon:

Ex. Joseph in Egypt

Genesis 45:5-8

But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with

yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me

before you to preserve life. 6  For these two years the

famine has been in the land, and there are still five years

in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

7  And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for

you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great

deliverance. 8  So now it was not you who sent me here,

but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and

lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land

of Egypt.

Ex. Me driving Church Van

Three times Joseph said to his brothers, “GOD sent me

here!”

Settle it in your mind that GOD is in charge of your

life—even in YOUR BABYLON.

Psalm 37:23: “The steps of a good man are ordered of

the Lord.”

Daniel 5:11-12

Daniel was in captivity.

Daniel was in a DUNGEON.

He had once been master of all the intellectuals

of the kingdom.

God was in charge of Daniel’s life, even in the

DUNGEON.

Just because you’re in a hard place, don’t think

God has forsaken you.

Krumacher: “When the gold is in the fire, the

Refiner is nearest.”

If God is in charge and if I am in trouble, there is

something for me to do or learn here!

2. Find the good in your difficulty

v. 5. Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and

eat their fruit.

A. Stop waiting for God to bail you out.

Life’s most fertile soil is trouble! Make your

trouble a garden!

B. Occupy until He comes

Luke 19:11-13

Now as they heard these things, He spoke another

parable, because He was near Jerusalem and

because they thought the kingdom of God would

appear immediately. 12  Therefore He said: “A certain

nobleman went into a far country to receive for

himself a kingdom and to return. 13  So he called ten

of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and

said to them, ‘Do business till I come.”

OCCUPY’til I come

Pragmateuo The word pragmatic is in there.

Or get busy.

Hang in there. DONT QUIT. Do

business!

Don’t seek a softer PLACE; become a

tougher PERSON!

Don’t change your circumstances; change

your character!

“When the going gets tough, the tough get

going!”

GET ON WITH THE TASK AT HAND.

Wherever you are.

Whatever it is.

Whoever it involves.

Work THROUGH, not around, your problem!

Philippians 2:12

“Work out your own salvation with fear and

trembling.”

It is already inside you!

3. Increase in the midst of your difficulty

v. 6   Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take

wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands,

so that they may bear sons and daughters—that you may

be increased there, and not diminished.

A. Accept your difficulty as an opportunity for

growth

Psalm 137:1-2 – Setting: Hebrews were in Babylon.

“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and

wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our

harps upon the willows in the midst of Babylon.”

 It is not Babylon itself that defeats us; it is giving

up that defeats us.

 If you don’t want to diminish, dry up, or die in

your hard place, you must find a way to sing

again!

“It is not what happens to you in life that counts;

it is how you handle what happens to you!”

• God is not interested in changing your

circumstances until you become interested

in changing your POSSIBILITIES!

Romans 8:28-29

28  And we know that all things work together

for good those who love God, to those who

are the called according to His purpose.

29  For whom He foreknew, He also

predestined to be conformed to the image of

His Son, that He might be the firstborn

among many brethren.

4. Seek the best for those who are mistreating you

v. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused

you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for

it; for in its peace you will have peace.

A. “PEACE” – SHALOM - It means: fullness,

prosperity, wellness

“Seek” is Darash and it means work for, pursue

diligently

In other words, do your best to SUCCEED in your

hard place.

B. Pray for your captors

C. Pray for the place of your hostility

Ask God to bless your “CAPTORS.”

Change your prison to a palace by PRAYER.

FOR IN ITS PEACE YOU WILL HAVE PEACE!

As you learn and grow, your own life will be

filled with strength, wisdom, patience, love, and

joy.