How many times have we hoped something would happen? Hope - what is it?
Hope is defined as trusting in, waiting for, looking for, expect something beneficial in the future. So, where do we find hope for our lives as followers of Christ? Do we look to the world for hope for our future, or do we turn and put our hope for our future in God’s hands?
As we put our faith in Jesus, as Lord and Savior, we are told our faith is the assurance of things hoped for. The things we have not yet seen. (Hebrews 11:1) So what is it we are hoping for, expecting to happen, but has not yet happened?
To have hope in the future that God has for us, a future that is for our good and not our harm. (Jeremiah 29:11) We must know Jesus as Lord and Savior. For it is in His rising from the dead that we have a living hope. (1 Peter 1:3). This living hope is given to us through the Spirit that lives in us. (Romans 15:13) This hope is to have eternal life and live with God forever. (Titus 1:1-2).
As we wait patiently for this hope to appear through Jesus’s coming again, we are assured of God’s unfailing love. (Psalm 147:11) The Lord will uphold us and renew our strength as we put our hope in Him. (Isaiah 40:31) We have been given God’s Word, which builds our faith through hope as He tells us He has a future for us ( Jeremiah 29:11). Because we have not yet received what God has planned for us, we patiently wait for it (Romans 8:24-25). We can do this because we know that God keeps His promises. (Romans 4:21)
As we approach 2022, what do you hope for? Is your hope based on what the world wants, or is your hope based on the grace that God gives to His children? (1 Peter 1:13)