Where does your hope lie?

As I was reading the Bible and praying one day, a prayer formed on my lips for a family member.
“Lord, help her to hope in You and who You are and not the answers to her prayers.”
You may think that a strange prayer but this person is becoming discouraged because it is taking God too long to answer her prayers. How often have we found ourselves in exactly this same spot? We have a situation that we are trying to lay in Christ’s hands and not worry about but when we don’t find the answer to the prayers we have so faithfully sent His way, we think there is no hope because He is not listening.
Here is my thought and hope for you in your time of need, whether it be now or in the coming future. Find hope in the character of Christ and who He teaches us He is the Bible. This is what is lasting and eternal! Who do you know Jesus Christ to be? Do you know much about Him at all? If you are having trouble with this, read His Word. You will find evidence of the character of Jesus/God in the entire Bible. Even in the tedious lists of the Old Testament we discover that everyone who chooses to serve Him, follow Him, obey Him is important to Him; even the guy who laid a brick on the southwest wall surrounding Jerusalem in Nehemiah or person who happened to be descended from Shem – one of Noah’s sons. We matter to God!
Throughout the Old Testament, we are reminded of God’s past provision. The Israelites took the time to remember the provision of God during some celebrations and in singing psalms to Him in worship. What was the purpose of the history lesson during church? Reminding those in attendance who God is and praising/worshipping/thanking Him for that and in the process finding hope in their current situations. He is all powerful, faithful, loving, comforting… These facts are what bring us hope in our time of need.
Hear me when I say this, pray to Jesus. He does listen. He does care. He does want us to pray to Him and give Him the burdens of our hearts in our times of need. But do not rest your hope on the answers to those specific prayers. We do not know the mind of God or His specific plans for our lives, therefore, we do not know how or when certain prayers will be answered. Lay your burdens down, remember how precious our prayers are to Him and then place you hope in the character of Jesus and what you know of Him. And then read that Bible and discover more about Him so you have more to hope in during your times of need.