God Opens the Door of Hope

As we live in this world, we may occasionally encounter trials and obstacles. When faced a problem, many people give up or fall into despair, unable to find a solution.

When we read the 66 books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, we can find the fact that whenever God’s people encounter trials or obstacles, God always opens a door of hope for them behind the scenes. Life on this earth is sometimes tough and difficult, but it is all part of our journey to the eternal kingdom of heaven. We will continue to live a truly glorious life every day in heaven where there is no death or pain or sorrow. Such a gracious world has been prepared for us. How exciting! I hope that all of you, members of the heavenly family, will always walk with God and enjoy eternal life and happiness with God in the eternal kingdom of heaven.

The hope God brings

When the Israelites lived as slaves in Egypt for 400 years, their lives were so harsh and tough. For generations, they asked God in prayer every day to set them free from the land where they had been suffering. God sent Moses to deliver them from slavery in Egypt, which they had eagerly desired. Moreover, God prepared the land of Canaan for them, where they and their descendants would live in peace.

On their journey toward Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, there encountered the physical space of wilderness. It was a barren wasteland where there was nothing but sand. God led the Israelites into such difficult situations for a certain reason. If they had traveled through a fertile and habitable land to Canaan, they would have been forced to fight daily battles with the people who were already settled there.

About one month after they came out of Egypt, the food they had brought with them from Egypt was running out. It was only a ten-day journey to Canaan by the most direct route, but they did not reach Canaan even after a month. Then they began to feel a sense of crisis in their hearts. There were 600,000 men over the age of twenty, and the whole number of people including women and children would be around 3 million. When such a large number of people were traveling through the wilderness, they found no water and no food, the most essential elements for survival. How desperate and hopeless they must have felt! From then on, they began to complain about the lack of water and food; they continued to complain and grumble, instead of giving thanks for the grace of God who had delivered them from slavery in Egypt.

Although there were many obstacles on the wilderness journey, God always opened a door of hope for them and ultimately gave them the land of Canaan He had promised them. None of them died of thirst or starvation in the wilderness. God rained manna upon them for food every day, and when there was a lack of water, God made water flow for them from the rock, so that they would lack nothing. From a human perspective, the wilderness was a place of scarcity and the hardest place to survive, but there God opened the history of hope.

“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. . . . Surely everyone goes around like a mere phantom; in vain they rush about, heaping up wealth without knowing whose it will finally be. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.” Ps 39:4–7

When we put our hope in God, we are able to follow God wherever He leads us. No matter how barren the place may be, and no matter how great the obstacles may seem, the door of hope is always open to those who put their hope in God. In the wilderness where not even a single grain of wheat could grow, bread came down from heaven every day for forty years; it was enough to feed all the people. God provided water for them whenever they needed it in the wilderness; once the rock was struck, water flowed from it, enough to provide for all the people.

While living in this world, we cannot avoid hardship and suffering. Through waves of hardship, we find the strength to keep moving forward, don’t we? The Bible teaches us to put our hope in God, instead of getting frustrated, giving up and trying to go back to our past, when we face hardship. God is the One who opens the door of hope for us. The door of hope is always open to those who put their trust and hope in God, even when they are on the brink of despair.

Heavenly Mother has always told us, “Blessings come wrapped in hardship.” On our gospel journey, sometimes there are obstacles and difficulties as well as situations we want to avoid, but we have no choice but to pass through the path that awaits us. It is natural for us, humans, to worry about life’s challenges. There is one more thing we should consider: Whom do we rely on now? Our hope is in God.

The despair of those who have forgotten God

Even in the wilderness, God opened a door of hope. However, many people failed to find it, fell into despair, and ended up being destroyed.

At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. . . . Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Nu 13:25–33

The above verses describe the scene of the twelve spies giving their report after they returned from exploring the land of Canaan for forty days. Ten of them brought to the Israelites an unfavorable report of the land, saying, “There we saw the giants,” and, “The people who dwell in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” As the people listened only to such a depressing and defeatist report, all of them fell into despair.

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” Nu 14:1–3

When they were delivered from slavery in the land of Egypt, they joyfully followed Moses and Aaron, praising God who had saved them. But after hearing the discouraging report that ten of the twelve spies gave to them, they lost their faith and wept aloud throughout the night, grumbling against Moses and Aaron. They even said that it would be better for them to go back to Egypt, giving up the land that God had promised them.

Joshua and Caleb found hope

The Israelites were completely discouraged and helpless. When their frustration reached its peak, Joshua and Caleb cried out:

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Nu 14:5–9

All twelve spies explored the same land. Yet, ten of them did not consider God and saw only the obstacles in front of them; they just reported what they had seen and felt. However, Joshua and Caleb were different; they said, “The LORD is with us, so don’t’ be afraid. We will devour them” They truly saw God with them because they had absolute trust in God’s promise to give the land to Israel. Those who live without putting their hope in God are unable to see God, and they only look at the situations right in front of them. Among the 600,000 men aged 20 and above who left Egypt, no one except Joshua and Caleb were able to enter Canaan (Nu 14:26–38). Without trust in God, there was no way they could enter Canaan. God gave the land flowing with milk and honey to Joshua and Caleb, who had trusted Him completely.

We are now walking the path of faith in a spiritual wilderness. On this journey of faith, we may sometimes encounter even more despairing circumstances than the challenges that the Israelites faced on their journey through the desert. Yet, no matter what discouraging situation we may find ourselves in, God is always with us and opens a door of hope for us. We should not give up by thinking that we can’t do it. Instead, we must have a positive attitude and mindset in life: “Since God is with us, there is always a way. Let us move forward, trusting in God’s promises.”

At ordinary times, we put our hope in God, but when difficult circumstances come, some may forget about God. When the Israelites left Egypt, they trusted in God, but while they were living in the wilderness, they kept focusing on the situations right in front of them. The ten spies, too, completely forgot the promise of God and just spoke realistically about what they had seen. From that time on, they began complaining and grumbling. No matter what circumstances we may face, we must not fall into despair or discouragement. We must always put our hope in God and fix our eyes on Him. Even when everything seems blocked, there is surely a way that God has prepared for us.

Christ has opened the door of hope

When we encounter obstacles in our lives on this earth, we should not be afraid of them but trust God to solve all our problems. Then we will be able to find the door of hope God has opened for us.

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, . . . When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” Lk 5:1–5

Peter, a fisherman, had been fishing all night, but he didn’t catch anything. It was a discouraging and frustrating situation because he depended on fishing for his livelihood as a fisherman. Then Jesus said to him, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

If Peter had not obeyed Jesus’ word, saying, “I am too tired to go on,” he would never have been able to experience the miracle. When he trusted Jesus’ word and let down the nets again, he was able to catch such a large number of fish all at once, which filled both boats so full that they began to sink (Lk 5:6–11).

When we feel like there is no way out, God opens the door of hope and leads us to see it. For the followers of Jesus, the most despairing moment was probably when Jesus was crucified and died on the cross. They saw how their leader, whom they had followed, was arrested by Roman soldiers and nailed to the cross, and they witnessed the scene of Jesus taking His last breath. “What should we do now?” “What are we supposed to believe?” Trembling with fear, they gathered together and locked the doors tightly.

In the midst of it all, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, breaking the power of death. For forty days, Jesus presented Himself to His disciples and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. Then He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. As the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven, they heard the voice of an angel saying, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Through these events, their hope and faith in God worked even more powerfully.

Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, they received the early rain of the Holy Spirit as they were praying together in Mark’s upper room. They had hidden their faith in Jesus before, but now they boldly proclaimed, “Jesus is the only Savior of all humanity. Whoever desires to be saved must believe in Jesus.” Even then, the Jews regarded Jesus merely as a carpenter’s son and rejected Him, saying, “You, a mere man, claim to be God,” and they referred to His followers as the “sect of the Nazarenes.” However, as witnesses to the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the disciples became so bold that they faithfully performed the mission of proclaiming to all people that God had come to this earth in the flesh and accomplished the marvelous and gracious work of salvation.

The completion of the gospel, the door of hope opened to all people

In the moment of greatest despair, Christ revealed to all His people that He is the great door of hope. As we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit, we must accomplish world evangelism while looking at the door of hope God has opened, instead of giving in to despair and discouragement, no matter what our circumstances are.

God has given His people the mission of completing the gospel in this age. When it comes to accomplishing world evangelism, some may worry about how and when the gospel can be preached to more than eight billion people around the world. However, there is no need to worry about it at all. That’s because it is something God has promised us.

“. . . but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Mt 24:13–14

“The gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world.” Jesus prophesied this when He came to this earth 2,000 years ago. This prophecy will surely be fulfilled. We have been called to the work that God has promised to fulfill without fail. Let us proclaim the new covenant, the new name of our Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Mother, and the Church of God, so that we can change this world of darkness into the world of light. Let us open wide the door of opportunity for all people to find the way to salvation.

The process is not easy. Every county has its own problems and there are cultural barriers as well. However, as God prophesied that the gospel would be preached throughout the world, we must believe it. We have a God who has promised us the heavenly Canaan and leads us there. There are many limitations from our perspective. Instead of just focusing on limitations, let us fix our eyes on God and God’s promises.

Today, there are so many Zions around the world. It’s because the God who always opens the door of hope is with us. When all things were done according to God’s word, God’s gracious work was always wrought in places where everyone had fallen into despair and given up. I earnestly ask you to always look at the door of hope God has opened, having the eyes of faith, and to glorify God by bearing abundant good fruit of the Holy Spirit in the new year as well.