All in Hope
How strong is our hope in God, and our faith in Jesus Christ? Do we turn towards the promises made to us in God’s Holy Word, and the gospel of Jesus Christ with absolute confidence? Do we trust with the faith that Abraham had in God, or do we need to touch the wounds of Christ like Thomas before we can bring ourselves to believe fully? Well, there is hope for us either way.
Throughout time the people who lived out their lives in this world have been confronted by events that have challenged them as they have struggled to remain hopeful. This place has much beauty, and we can be certain that pleasures and blessings abound in abundance here, but this is also Satan’s present home, and he confronts us daily with hardship and tragedy as he seeks to destroy our faith, and our hope in God. So we struggle each day to maintain our hope, but where does it come from? Our Hope comes from the Lord, and moreover, He is our hope. Do we experience this divine hope?
What is the condition of our hope in Jesus Christ today? Are we dejected, walking disappointedly, and in possible disbelief, towards Emmaus, or are we facing life with hopeful prayer on our lips, and with our eyes fixed on the sky as we anticipate His imminent return? Sometimes the world deals us a terrible blow that knocks the wind out of us, and we find ourselves facing a crisis of faith, but the proper way to deal with those occurrences is to redouble the intensity of our prayers, and lean on the Holy Spirit for the remembrance of all we have been promised… “I am with you always”, and “I have overcome the world.” to mention just two.
Some of us are feeling weak and faint today, and in our sickness or suffering, we have lost hope, but there is one source of hope and strength for us that will never fail us; that is able to heal every ill. Our God, the God of Abraham, and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, He is our unfailing hope, and the source of strength to the sick and suffering. He restores health and vigor to those who will trust in Him, and who come to Him in the name of Jesus… His love for us is unfathomable, and He walks with us through every valley.
We are never disappointed by our hope in the glory of God, but if we do not revel in the love of God, as poured into us by the Holy Spirit, then where is our hope founded? We have faith, we have love, and we are meant to have hope... but where are we without the confidence in His glory that His love brings? Are we open vessels, ready to receive the free gift of God’s love as His Spirit pours it into us? If so then His glory will shine from within us, and our hope in Him will become certain.
Do we maintain a hope in God and Jesus Christ that is with us every minute of every day? Has our faith produced a transformation in us that is irreversible, or does the old person we once were continue to struggle against us as we are tempted to fall back into sin? Our hope in Christ is not like a tide that is meant to rise and fall within us, no, it is a living hope that is alive in us always. We are meant to lean on our faith; loving, praying, and hoping in the Lord as we push back against every worldly temptation.
Are you distraught today? Is your life filled with disappointment, and are the things you once placed great value in being drawn away from you? If you feel morose in this way then you are losing hope in life, and perhaps your faith is under attack as well. Hope in our earthly life, and hope in faith, walk arm in arm with one another, and together they give us an abundance of life. So think on those things that give you hope, and take refreshment in your faith, and life, from them.
Are you feeling out of sorts in this time of COVID-19? You say that you aren’t depressed, and you aren’t anxious, yet you Still feel differently? You say that your energy is gone, you just can’t seem to get started in the morning, and even the good news you hear in life doesn’t seem to be enough? Well, I was listening to a good friend talk about feeling this way yesterday, and it dawned on me that what She was describing was quite simply hopelessness. She was feeling an ebb in her ability to hope, but remember; we serve the God of hope! So I ask that each of us consider this question… “When was the last time I prayed for hope?“
Have you strayed from God, and Jesus? Do you think your wandering is irreversible? Well it is not! There is no place too dark, that God will lose sight of you, and no wallow so disgusting that He will abandon you there. Do not give in to the lies of Satan when he tells you that there is no hope, and that God has turned his back on you. Remember always that Jesus took on the sins of the world, and many of those were far greater than yours.
What do you hope for in faith? Do you hope to be free of pain, have straight and strong limbs, to no longer stutter, hear and see perfectly, or maybe to be cured of some disease? Whatever your hope is, it is certainly awaiting you in heaven through Jesus Christ. Every tear will be dried there, and all hope, faith, and love will be perfectly realized.
Are we sick, or dying? Are we growing old, and feeling the pains of a body that is winding down? Is our mind failing us, taking with it the things we once knew, and were so precious to us? If our bodies and minds are wasting away take heart, because our souls are forever young, and are renewed in the Lord every day. Don’t allow what is happening to a body, that is designed to last for a short while, to cause you to lose sight of what is eternally important and constructed within you.
Do you lean on God’s promises for your hope? Does His Word not only give you hope, but does it allow you to live abundantly again? Sometimes our hopelessness becomes a millstone around our neck, and it is so burdensome that to go on living seems futile, but even in such drastic times we can find hope and relief in the Word of God, and certain joy in His promises.
Do you feel hopelessly alone today? Are you feeling lost, abandoned, sick and without hope, dying and laying alone waiting for that final moment, or suffering without the care of a loved one? No matter how far we feel that we are from another soul, or devoid of love, we are never alone... no matter how lost, how abandoned, how hopeless, how near death, or intense our suffering... we are in the continuous presence , and hands of God. Take heart for He loves you now.
If you have been a Christian for any period of time you more than likely have faced periods of bountiful faith, and those of withering spiritual drought as well. How easy it is to fall, and hard it is to pick ourselves back up again. Where are you at this moment? Are you standing on the mountaintop surrounded by glory, working your way towards the summit, or lying in the valley of your own despair?
You have prayed and asked God to come into your life, you have gone down in the waters of baptism, and for a while you felt the ecstatic joy that comes in that moment... you claimed His victory over the effects of the world. Then as time goes by you begin to feel the weight of the world once again, or your circumstances join together in order to drag you into the “valley of despair.” How is this so, why has God allowed this, and how can we escape it... or where is God when we need His rescue?