What keeps us going when the days are long or dark? What kept Abraham the many years after he received his promises and yet saw no fulfillment? What was it that kept the Psalmist amid the stormy days of his life? What held the Jewish people in the years of captivity? It was hope. Paul tells us in Romans that they believed in hope when everything was contrary to hope.
Hope provides glimmers of light in dark times. Linked with faith, it provides the individual with strength and stability in tumultuous times. A christian’s hope is not a flimsy “I hope things turn out.” The Christian’s hope relies on the Christmas story; the story of God sending His own son to our dark world in a dark time to bring light, to bring hope. His life, death and resurrection speak to us of an eternal hope, a living hope, a hope which enters the Presence behind the veil. It provides an anchor to our soul in troublesome times. It does not disappoint. It, along with faith and love lasts.
The Lord Jesus Christ is our hope. It is in Him we can hold on to the hope of eternal life. By this hope we can draw near to God. We rest our hope fully on the grace we will receive when Jesus returns. Our hope is in the Lord for it is Him we find mercy and abundant redemption. We find blessing as we hope in the Lord. When we hope for what we cannot see, we can wait more eagerly with perseverance. We rejoice in hope. We can abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is His presence in us which provides the hope of glory.
We need the ability to explain why we have hope to those who ask about the hope we have; to do so in meekness and fear. Having this hope within us helps us to purify ourselves.
“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.”
