Hope used to be simply a Christian buzz word to me. Faith, hope, love. You know, you see it on everything from a yard decoration to a coffee cup. It was a fluff word, another word for Christians to toss around regardless of whether they believe It wasn’t until recently that hope became real to me. It wasn’t until recently that I began to understand what hope truly is.
Hope is a sign of Christian maturity, not youthful naivety. “Suffering produces endurance..endurance produces character.. character produces hope.” (Romans 5)
“Having hope in God means no one else finishes the story but Him, and everything really will be okay. We do not need to fear optimism. Life will still hurt and there is darkness ahead — but we have a Healer, a Counselor, a King, a Father, a Friend. We can get our hopes up: all the way up to Him.” J.S.
This might not be news to you, but the gravity of that word – hope – was news to me. Great news!
1. Hope is the desire for something good in the future.
2. Hope is the good thing in the future that we are desiring.
3. Hope is the reason why our hope might indeed come to pass.
Usually, when I express hope, it’s in uncertainty. But… biblical hope is not just a desire for something good in the future, but rather, a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future.
To use the words of William Carey, ‘Expect great things from God.”
“Hope is something that should not waver, because it is rooted in the faithfulness of God. There should be moral certainty in it because the will and purpose of God are like iron, not chalk.” John Piper
Something I realize is that there is no fight more urgent than keeping hope alive and well and hot.
Who knew? What I thought was simply a Christian buzz word held such power.
“Human beings are absolutely hope-shaped creatures. The way you live now is completely controlled by what you believe about your future.” Timothy Keller
It requires an active, fighting hope in God to live twenty-four hours of every day as a saint, going through drudgery, and living an ordinary, unnoticed and disciplined existence as a disciple of Jesus. It is ingrained in us that we have to do exceptional things for God—but we do not. We have to be exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people.. believing God in the midst of self-doubt, worries of this world, choosing joy always, loving freely… by hoping.
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