Thank Goodness for Hope

What are you hoping for? A better paying job? A future mate? Perfect children? A winning lottery ticket? We use the term "hope" to refer to pipe dreams, wishful thinking, fantasies, and the like, but very few of us actually understand what true "hope" is. The American Heritage Dictionary defines hope as "a wish or desire supported by some confidence of its fulfillment." Hope from a Biblical perspective is exactly that--a belief grounded in faith and based upon the promises of a God who never lies and who always keeps His word.

Romans 5:3-5 says, "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love in our hearts." Hope enables people to keep going long after they think they can because it holds promise of better days and brighter horizons. Ecclesiastes 9:4 states, "Anyone who is among the living has hope--even a live dog is better off than a dead lion." In other words, if you are still breathing, there is hope for you. No matter what you have done or what you are going through God promises hope is available to you because of three unchangeable truths from the Bible.

First, God is a God of second chances, forgiveness, and redemption. It is never too late to get right with the Lord because He is always ready to transform whatever you give Him into something usable. Psalm 103: 10,12 says, "He does treat us as our sins deserve . . . as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Secondly, God has the power to make all things new--even you. Lamentations 3:22-23,25 says, "His mercies never fail . . .They are new every morning . . . The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him." God offers you a new beginning everyday. Take Him up on His offer. Finally, God never withholds what is good from you, so you can have hope that He will provide what you need and sustain you through trials. Psalm 34:10 says, "Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." God always has your best interest in mind so you can trust that He will bring about what He has promised and that His plan will ultimately satisfy your every desire.

The devil wants to keep you in bondage to fear and dread which lead to discouragement, despair, and depression. But the "God of hope wants to fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that you may overflow with hope" (Romans 15:13). When the Psalmist was distraught, he cried out, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? . . . Put your hope in God." (Psalm 42:5). He knew the remedy for discouragement--look expectantly to the Lord for deliverance and trust that He is fully capable of bringing it to pass. May the hope of our Lord be with you today and remind you that in all things you are more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus! (Romans 8:37).

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