Hope In Christ

Text: “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you” (Psalm 39:7).

What does the word “hope” means to us? When we hope for something, we are looking forward to something. For example, a parent might say, “I hope my child makes the honor roll or I hope my child graduates from high school.” An employee might say, “I hope my evaluation was good enough to bring forth a 5% raise in my salary.”

A wife or mother might say, “I tried this recipe for apple pie that my mother used and I sure hope it taste as good as did hers.” A child might say, “I have tried to be good all years and I really hope Santa Claus brings me a television set for my room.”

When we hope for something, we wish with positive expectation that it will become a reality. Everyday we hope for something. We may hope that our prayer for someone will be answered.

We may hope that some situation will turn out to be beneficial to us or to someone else. We hope our country will continue to flourish based upon the Christian principles brought forth by our forefathers.

Hope is a part of life. It is true that hope can be positive or hope can be negative. As Christians, our hope follows God’s Word and God’s Word is always positive. In other words, we hope for good and not for bad.

Hope is closely associated with faith. We hope and believe because of our faith in Almighty God. God’s Words says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). We hope for something and it is through faith that what we hope for will be for certain and for sure.

When we have faith, we believe that God is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do. When we hope for something, we do not see it happening at the present time, but we believe and trust God, through faith, that we will see the fruit of what we hoped for.

As Christians, it is obvious to us that our hope does not come from our own being. Hope has been in existence since God created man. When God created man, God gave man the ability to think and do things for himself. Incorporated in man was the gift of hope given by God.

As you recall, Job was tested several times during his life. He lost his servants, his livestock and his family. Then Satan “afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head” (Job 2:7). Job suffered beyond what we can possible imagine, but he did not curse God or sin.

Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). Job’s hope was in the Lord. He could not see the final outcome, but he knew in his heart that God was still in control and somehow things would work out where he would be stronger, better, and have a closer relationship with Father God.

Job was not concentrating on the present, but instead, he was looking at what was to come. He used his faith to bring him through these present trials and tribulations. Job knew God was alive and that one day he would see Him in the perfect flesh he once had. This was Job’s declaration of hope and it was backed by his faith in God.

Our hope is not in the things of the world or what we can do for ourselves. The things we can see we no longer have to hope for. Our hope comes from God which is more certain than human hope. The hope from God is a sure hope and we will never be disappointed. Scripture says, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5).

There will never be a period in our lifetime when God’s hope will disappoint us because of His love for us. His love is always with us because the Holy Spirit lives within our heart. We can endure and be strong during difficult and trying times since we are inspired by the hope we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God Word is the book of hope. In the Old Testament hope was present, but it was covered or veiled because the Messiah had not yet come. In the New Testament hope is wide open because the Messiah, Jesus Christ has come, is with us daily in the Person of the Holy Spirit and will come again just as His Word tells us.