What is your biggest or most important hope? How many hopes do you have? Do you hope for your family? Do you hope for material possessions? Are you hoping for something new and grand? Have you put your hope in God?
We all hope for a variety of things. There are hopes for family, friends, material things, jobs, relationships, and many others. Yet, those hopes are generally more like wishes than true hope. Those hopes typically do not include a full expectation.
The hope we have in God, in Jesus Christ, is a hope full of expectation. We have hope of an eternal life. We have hope of blessings from God. Our hope feeds into our faith and is a product of our faith. Where does our hope come from? God’s promises.
As we hold onto God’s promises and see them come to fruition, our hope increases along with our faith. It is God’s promises along with the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that gives us cause for hope. It is not mere wishful thinking, but an expectation that God will fulfill his promises.
We know not all his promises will be fulfilled in our lifetime. Some of them will come long after we are gone. Yet, our hope tells us they will be fulfilled, nonetheless. It is with this hope that we live confidently in this world. For we know there is nothing that can stop God from fulfilling his promises. With this knowledge, our hope increases.
I pray we all put our hope in God’s promises. I pray we hope with a full expectation that God will fulfill his promises. I pray each one of us will live confidently with the hope we have in God. Hope in God’s promises. Expect God to fulfill them. Live with confidence in your hope.
Romans 8:24-25 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Marty Pressey 