A Hope-Filled Heart

A Christian’s Heart

“A Hope-Filled Heart”

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_XEfKOjeoQ

Some of you may not know, but I have been on a series from the beginning of the year looking at what a Christian’s heart should look like. And so far, we’ve looked at how it is a loving, forgiving, spirit, faith, and grace filled heart. It’s also a committed, courageous, servant’s heart, and that like Jesus it is a wounded healer’s heart.  

In the weeks ahead we’ll be looking at a Christian’s heart being a worship-filled heart, a heart of integrity, filled with wisdom, purpose, and praise, as well as being sacrificial.

But for this day, I didn’t want to go off our series, but share with you what these teachings are like, and that there is a type of heart that fits this day perfectly, a day where we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, or what the world calls “Easter.”

And so, today, I want to talk with you about a heart that is filled with hope because of what Jesus did, not only dying upon the cross for our sins, but more importantly rising from the dead three days later to show us and give us hope that this life isn’t all that there is to life. But there is an eternity waiting for all those who believe in Jesus Christ.

So, let me start our study by saying that I believe that it’s safe to say that all of us have had bad days, and some of us have had a long line of bad days and it doesn’t seem like these may ever end.

It’s been said that a person can go 40 days without food, three days without water, and three minutes without air, but we can’t last a single second without hope. Hope is to our spirits what oxygen is to our bodies. When we don’t have enough oxygen to breathe, we die. When we don’t have hope, our spirit dies. Hope is then an essential to life, because when hope is gone then life, for all intents and purpose, is over.

Hope, that is, a good solid biblical hope can help change our outlook on life.

Have you ever noticed that life comes with list of side effects. It can be full of fun, adventure, excitement, and joy. But it also comes with illness, abuse, broken relationship, betrayal, sorrow, loss, injuries, disappointments, heartache, crime, and death.

Like any product, therefore, life then should come with a warning label, which is what Jesus gives us.

In John 16:33, Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)

Yes troubles, trials, and tribulations are going to come from the world around us, but Jesus tells us to have a heart filled with hope because He has overcome this world. Jesus’s plan and purpose for our lives far exceeds our expectations and understanding, and supersedes our present reality, that is, our present difficulties.

There is hope, however, and that’s because Jesus is an overcoming Savior, and here’s the truth because He is an overcoming Savior, Hope Springs Eternal

The reality is that most of us don’t deal well with life’s disappointments. We tend to draw a curtain of protection around us trying to the keep the hurt out and bury our troubles and difficulties in the process. Further, we question everything we’ve done along with our motives for doing it.

Every one of us, however, have dreams and plans as to what we want to become and what we want in life. The problem is that life seems to get in the way and hope gets lost in the process, and things just kind of goes downhill from there.

Solomon says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, (that is, when hope takesplace in our lives, when hope happens) it is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 13:12 NKJV)

When hope is lost or deferred, our dreams are shattered, left dormant, imprisoned, manipulated, or paralyzed due to heartbreak.

The unfortunate part of this is that people usually don’t turn to God during these times to have their hope restored. Rather they turn to methods and medications to alleviate the pain, which in turn does greater damage by exasperating the problem bringing on greater depression.

But this doesn’t need to be the end of the story. God has great dreams and plans for our lives, dreams to give us a future and a hope.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV)