Where Is Your Hope? God Is Our Living Hope!
Hope, what is hope? It may be one of the most misrepresented words. Many people think of hope like it is a dream. But hope is: the trust and/or belief in a person in which our expectations are centered; to believe, to trust, to look forward to with confidence; the feeling that what is wanted can be had, or that events will turn out for the best, because of our trust and belief. For the true followers of Christ, hope is in the person of Jesus Christ, in the completed work of our Lord and Savior who gave Himself that we may live.
1 Timothy 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. NIV
A dream is: a vain or wild fancy; to think of something in a remote way; a vision indulged in while awake or asleep. Far too often we see people without hope and they will say that their situation is hopeless. Life circumstances or the choices they have made in life may have led them to believe that there is no hope for them or for their lives to change.
Living in a world that constantly feeds us a steady diet of lies,which may cause unrealistic materialistic dreams and unrealistic expectations that are unfulfilled may causes hopelessness to grow. To continue living a life of failure and unfulfilled dreams may make the hearts sick and ultimately causes people to give up on themselves, their families and even on life itself. This is an attack of Satan against mankind and all who are created in the image of God, to hinder them from fulfilling their created purpose. But we are to have our hope in Christ and to reveal the glory of God on the earth.
Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life. NIV
For followers of Christ, our hope is grounded and built on the foundation of the life of Christ. He is the person in which our Hope is anchored, He is the embodiment of our Hope. It is with a fixed and determined belief and confidence, that what He has promised He is able to perform. Which is unlike the wild fancies that are conjured up by trickeries, lies and deceits of this fallen world, that all societies are exposed to through social norms or mass media. This causes people to lose heart when their unrealistic dreams or wishes fail.
1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, NIV
Philippians 1:20 For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. NIV
Hope is not wishful thinking, or wishing that something will come true, but true hope is faith in the Living Word of God and Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Christ becomes the center of our hope and though it may not come immediately we wait with expectation and confidence that Jesus will fulfill His promise. Hope is not some dream or wish that was fabricated by some type of media, commercial or some invented scheme that has no basis or is grounded in lies and deceptions. Our hope is strengthened and developed through our life of worship and communion with Christ.
It is when we accept Jesus, not only as the one who saved us, but as our Lord, the one who directs, trains and commands usand the one who is the head of our lives and family, that we receive the eternal Hope of God. We grow in hope and our hope is reinforced, fortified and built up through our time of worship where we develop an intimacy and closeness with God as our Father and Jesus as our Lord.
Titus 2: 1-14 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. NIV
The true hope that we have in Christ allows us to live differently than the world, though we may reside in our community our citizenship is in heaven. We have a distinctculture and our lives are different because of the way we handle ourselves in conflicts, how we define success and how we view death.
We handle our conflicts with mercy, grace and forgiveness. Because Christ has forgiven us for everything, we also should forgive everybody everything. Our success is not measured by how much money we have, our bank accounts or where we may live, but by the peace and joy we have in Christ. We are not hopeless in the face of death, because Jesus is the resurrection and the life, eternal.
Our identity is rooted in Jesus, we are precious in His sight, as beloved ones whom He has called, pursued and loves. We are created as His image bearers, saved by the blood of Jesus, who purchased forgiveness of sin for all humanity. God offers everyone His grace, mercy and forgiveness of sin, but each individual will decide to accept or reject this great gift from God and whether to acknowledge Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die;NIV
Psalms 65:5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, NIV
We live in a fallen world full of sin and troubles therefore,persecution and suffering are a part of everyone’s life even every follower of Christ. It is our belief and faith that we will overcome in every situation that gives us hope. Knowing that in the end we will not be ashamed because of Jesus Christ who is our Hope, will make the crooked ways straight and will bring down the lofty and those who are full of pride.
Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. NIV
Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
Hope is with expectation of a future occurrence; it is not something that we see or have at the present. If we had what we desired at present there would be no need for faith or hope for the future. Jesus’ love for us is the bedrock and the cornerstone on which we build our hope and our faith, it is in knowing that He is faithful to that which He promised. As true followers of Christ we should not expect to avoid troubles, but we should be encouraged, because we are in the fellowship of His sufferingand through this we can show His love as we praise God because His glory is upon us.
Romans 8:24-25 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. NIV
1 Peter 4:13-16 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. NIV
2 Thessalonians 2:16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope. NIV
As the song “Cornerstone” reminds us;
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name.
Christ alone, cornerstone weak made strong, in the Savior’s love, through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.
When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.
He is Lord, Lord of all!
Integrity- People of God 