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I wanted to highlight and focus on the topic of Hope because during the holiday season, people are reminded about love, peace, joy, and hope. This season allows people to find hope in their families, traditions, and religious upbringings.
People seek for optimism from any hopelessness they may have experienced in the year or for many years. Hope is a desire for something to happen. It is more than just a wish. It doesn’t have to be found in materialistic things. But it is found where it matters the most.
Hope is Found in God
Everyone needs someone or something to believe in. In a world of uncertainty, we grasp to hope to have expectations during hard times. But though the world is uncertain God is certain
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19)
God is who we can count on to be constant in our lives. In being loyal to Himself He has been loyal to us. This has been done by Him giving His only son to piece back together parts of us that were lost and hopeless.
This has repaired our relationship with Him. Accepting Christ reunites us to God, this then gives us hope in Him in every part of our lives.
Hope is Found in Faith
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
Hope is the expectancy and desire of something happening, but how might you hope in something without faith? Faith is our ability to put trust and believe in something. Faith is the genetic makeup of hope, it is what makes hope in something real to us.
All that we hope for must be anchored to faith in God. Hope is shallow without faith to sustain it. We must have faith in God and His power to have hope in what He has for us.
Hope is Found in Patience
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;And patience, experience; and experience, hope (Romans 5:3)
Hope can be found in patience. Life experiences bring about patience. Since in life nothing comes easily, we learn how to be patient with things we may not understand, or we hope for.
While waiting, hope settles in to receive the promise or desire anticipated. The testing of our faith brings forth patience. (James 1:3) Patience is a virtue because not many people can calmly wait in the face of adversity for things to turn in their favor.
While waiting patiently, wait. Serve others as you are hoping for your desires to come to pass. Use this time to not allow anything to deter you from keeping hope in what you know God can do.
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:25)
Hope is Found in believing the impossible
A woman with twelve years of bleeding, found no one to heal her. She came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his garment and immediately was healed. Imagine being sick for more than a decade. You can easily lose hope that you would never be healed.
However, this woman put her hope and faith in Christ, who she may have heard about from others. That day, she knew she had to find a way to get to Him to receive some type of healing.
She didn’t just put her faith and hope in Him laying His hand on her, or praying for her, but she put it in just being able to touch Him for healing. The woman’s faith in Jesus allowed her to believe that any part of Him would heal her.
Hope can help you believe everything is possible no matter the circumstance. Having hope and faith in God helps us to remember with Him anything is possible.
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)
Hope is Found in God’s Promises
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Imagine being Abraham and being told you will have a son at an old age and having to wait to see God’s promise. Or being Moses walking in hope to soon reach God’s promised land.
God wants to make his unchanging nature of His promise to those he promises to, clear. Two things are displayed in these moments one, God can’t lie, and two, the hope set before us greatly encourages us. (Hebrews 6:13 - 20) I’m excited while writing this because God’s oaths are binding. It is awesome to know that the God we serve keeps His promises.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:19) These points are where hope matters the most. It is In the God of the universe His loyalty, love, grace, and promises give hope not in just things but in Him.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12)
