Text: “For You are my hope, O Lord God; You are my trust from my youth” (Psalm 71:5).
Story:
The school system in a large city had a program to help children keep up with their school work during stays in the city’s hospitals.
One day a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher.
"We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now," the regular teacher said, "and I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them so he doesn’t fall too far behind."
The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been badly burned and was in great pain.
Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, "I’ve been sent by your school to help you with nouns and adverbs." When she left she felt she hadn’t accomplished much.
But the next day, a nurse asked her, "What did you do to that boy?" The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. "No, no," said the nurse. "You don’t know what I mean. We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to live."
Two weeks later the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: "They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?"
Bits & Pieces, July 1991
What is hope?
Hope is something we wish for or something we desire with full expectation that we will receive it or that it will come about.
An adult might hope that his or her job interview was acceptable and the available opening would be granted to them. A couple might have applied for a loan from a bank to purchase their dream house with the hope their credit score would be acceptable to the lending institution.
A couple might have a relationship with one another in hopes that someday the relationship would lead to matrimony.
A student in college has hopes of becoming a doctor, lawyer, accountant, or CEO of a company.
A high school student hopes that one day all his efforts will enable him to reach out and receive his diploma from his principal.
A young child snuggles down in bed on Christmas Eve in hopes that upon arising in the morning that special toy, bicycle, doll baby, or game will be under the Christmas tree.
In each of these scenarios something is desired with full expectation of fulfillment.
Each day of our life, we look to something in the future. Whenever we look for something in the future or something that has not yet happened or come about, we are hoping. Hoping is essential to life.
We can hope for something positive or we can hope for something negative. As a Christian, our hope is to be positive. God created each one of us with a positive mindset. Before sin entered the picture Adam and Eve did not have a negative outlook on life. Their minds were geared to all the good things God had provided for them.
Adam and Eve did not have to wish and wait for something because God gave them a perfect setting in which to live. They were favorable in God’s sight. They were blessed with all the necessities and essential of life.
When temptation entered the picture and disobedience occurred, mankind’s perfect life took a turn to the negative side. Hope now became a reality because sin showed its’ dark and dreary presence. Every person born after Adam and Eve is born with a sinful nature. Now mankind could hope for something better in the future.
You and I are here facing the year 2009. We have finished 2008 with its’ good times and its’ bad times. We have gone through some ups and downs. We have had trials and tribulations. We have had to make some detours down the road of life because of illness or unforeseen circumstance.
Each morning when we open our eyes the new day is like fresh fallen snow that has not been walked on. This year, 2009, we will be positive regardless of what happens. We will forget what happened last year or yesterday and keep our eyes and our minds set upon our God, as did the psalmist who said, “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You” (Psalm 39:7).
We will remember that God is still on the throne and He is still in control. God is aware of each thing that happens in our daily life. It is our duty to remain positive and believe that there is good in all that comes our way. We are His children and we are precious in His sight.
God wants each one of us to prosper and be in good health. We believe this is true because His Word says, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2). Our hope is that He will keep us in good health and shower us with prosperity worldly and spiritually.
Hope is a gift of our beloved Father. In other words, we do not create hope, but we do receive hope from God. God has given each one of us hope which requires us to wait patiently. We realize that God does not act according to our time table, so patience on our part is required.
Our high hope is in the God who created everything, including mankind. It is permissible to hope for material or worldly things, but it is to our advantage to hope for spiritual blessings. Our hope is tied to our faith.
What is faith? “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Our faith entails believing God for who he says he is and believing that he will fulfill all his promises.
It is far better to have hope in what God says than in what people say. God’s hope does not disappoint us (Romans 5:5) and His hope is steadfast (I Thessalonians 1:3). Proverbs 23:18 says, “There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.”
In other words, we will follow God’s laws, be responsible Christians, and in return, God promises a hope and a wonderful future. Each one of us has walked with God many years and our hope at this point in our life is spiritual and not worldly. Worldly possessions are not a priority to us, but spiritual possessions are what we will be able to carry with us into His eternal kingdom.
As we said before, faith and hope are connected. We can’t have one without the other as indicated in 1 Peter 1:21 which says, “Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”
Romans 15:13 says, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It is in hope that faith finds joy and peace.
The coming year is going to be a good year in the life of each of us. Our faith is strong and our hope for the coming year will bring joy and peace to us. We have been together for the last 8 years and during that time we have been able to shed a little joy for one another.
Here is a story I shared with you before, but I want to share it again because it illustrates how hope can change people’s lives.
Story:
From Parade magazine comes the story of self-made millionaire Eugene Land, who greatly changed the lives of a sixth-grade class in East Harlem. Mr. Lang had been asked to speak to a class of 59 sixth-graders.
What could he say to inspire these students, most of whom would drop out of school? He wondered how he could get these predominantly black and Puerto Rican children even to look at him.
Scrapping his notes, he decided to speak to them from his heart. "Stay in school," he admonished, "and I’ll help pay the college tuition for every one of you."
At that moment the lives of these students changed. For the first time they had hope. One student said, "I had something to look forward to, something waiting for me. It was a golden feeling."
Nearly 90 percent of that class went on to graduate from high school.
Parade Magazine
This is an example of what we can do for one another this coming year. We can speak positive words; words of caring, understanding, and love to one another. We can pray for one another.
God’s Word says, “…pray for one another….The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
Let us not forget that our highest hope is in Christ. In Old Testament time, hope was covered or veiled, but in New Testament time when Jesus Christ came upon the scene, hope was uncovered. We have clear access to God through the Person of the Holy Spirit.
The 365 days of this year are going to be good days for each one of us. God will be with us each one of these days. He said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He is constantly with us and He will supply our daily needs.
“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).
All of us have been through hardships of some nature and we have survived. Why? We have survived because of our faith and hope is our Heavenly Father and because of His unconditional love for us.
Our hope is made stronger and our relationship with God becomes closer when we realize that His promises are real and truthful. The Holy Spirit within our heart insures us that God loves us.
Conclusion;
It is permissible to hope for worldly things, but it is better to hope for spiritual blessings. In Jesus, hope is certain. He gave His life for us and desires only good things for us. Since God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, our hope is that He will deliver us again.
As Christians, our hope does not rest on some idea, but rests on the living person of Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead. It is Jesus who guarantees our inheritance which will not perish.
Why do I say this? I say this because it is His Word.
His word says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:3, 4).
We are going into the year with high hopes. We have God’s favor. He wants us to prosper and be in good health. The year 2009 is going to be a wonderful and productive year for each one of us.
We are going to give God thanks for each day; thanks for everything that comes our way; thanks for the fellowship we share among us; thanks for enabling us to be together each week, and thanks for His presence with us.
Amen.
