In a world filled with despair, gone crazy as many people say today, our hope is in Christ. Paul tells us to be filled with joy and peace. How does this happen? By the power of the Holy Spirit, hope can fill us (Romans 15:13).
Rejoice In Hope
When I was in my 20's I was told that I would not be able to have children. I simply would not accept that. I had hope that God would give me the desires of my heart and that was to have a family, to have children. For me the Bible verse that I repeated nearly every day was Hebrews 11:1 which says this,
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
In His time the Lord answered my prayers. My husband and I's first child was born when I was 39, our second at 42 and we adopted a third child at 45. I thank God for the precious gifts of my children. There really IS always hope.
The Bible is filled with hope. In Romans 12: 10-13 Paul reminds us to rejoice in hope. Paul was imprisoned, beaten, and eventually killed for telling the world about Christ. His hope didn't just lie in his present life, his hope was in his future life with Christ in Heaven.
Hope In The Word
In Romans 15:4 Paul reminds us that we find our hope in the word of God.
"For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
Paul says that the Scriptures provide patience and comfort and that that will give us hope. Through God's word we find hope in knowing that God has provided us a way to be with Him eternally through the gift of His Son. Through God's word we learn more about God, that He can be trusted, that He is faithful and that He loves us unconditionally. The Lord takes pleasure in those who have hope in His mercy (Psalm 147:11). We know the Lord is merciful because "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8b). The Holy Spirit who lives in us, if we are Christians, testifies to His mercy in our lives. We know we can never deserve His blessings that we receive every day.
Hope Renews Us
In Isaiah 40:31 we read this:
"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
The word "wait" is often translated "hope". Our hope in the Lord renews us and gives us strength to go on no matter what challenges or trials we may face. We won't be tired when we hope. We won't faint when we hope. Often, we feel like the world is waying us down and that it is impossible to go on and this is exactly how the Devil wants us to feel. Christ, however, offers hope. Hope of a blessed future with Him.
Faith and Hope
Once more in Romans 8:18 Paul calls us to hope. Our hope is truly, as Paul says, "in the glory which shall be revealed." Our faith itself is "the substance of things hoped for". Our faith is the "evidence of things not seen." The Bible has so much to say about hope. When you feel like giving up, go to the Word, find your Hope. Not in yourself, but in the One who sees you and loves you, our Savior. In Him we rejoice in hope.
Jesus, Lover of My Soul
- Charles Wesley
Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.
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