Hope

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our God is a God of hope. Hope here is an attitude of confidently looking forward to what is good and beneficial an expectation of good things.

When we put our hope in God we can expect good things. When we place our hope in God we can know that our life is going to be that of one that is richly blessed.

People often place their hope in different things family, career, health and material things. But hope placed in anything but God will certainly lead to disappointment.

When we have our hope in God the things of this world become bearable. When our hope is in God we can know that good things are in store for us. Does this mean that we will not get discouraged absolutely not but what it does mean is that we will not stay discouraged? We will rise above it When the trials of life come we can turn to God and trust that he is in control and will see us through to victory. Our disposition in life will be that of a joyous one. We will have a peace that passed all understanding people will wonder and be amazed at how we handle the trials that life sends our way.

We have an eternal hope of knowing that this world is not our end that when it is all said and done that we have a home in glory and a life that is beyond what mortal words can tell. This is why we can have hope for the good things in life and see them come about. We have a Savior who came to give us life and to give it to us abundantly.

When we hope in God we will not be disappointed for we can know in our knower that he is faithful to us and that no matter what comes our way we will be triumphant.

Just as an athlete must train and go through hard work and pain to develop endurance, the Christian has to go through challenges and trails to develop perseverance and character. As our perseverance and character are developed our hope is strengthened.

Our hope will cause us to share our faith in Christ with a lost and dying world. We have a hope and joy to share that other should see in our lives. 1 Peter 3:15 says

But in you hearts revere Christ as Lord, always be prepared to give an answer

To everyone who ask you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do

this with gentleness and respect.

So I challenge you today to take this gift of hope that God gives and live your life to the fullness in him. Be joyous and courageous in all that you do. Believe God for the small things as well as the big things. Accept all that God has in store for you.