Have you ever met someone who has lost hope? I have. Do you know what it is like to lose hope in everything? I haven’t experienced that, but my wife Laura did. Why do people lose hope? Perhaps because they are separated from the God of truth, or they refuse to accept the hope He freely gives. Let me share with you what I learned about how hope lives.
There is a source of hope. It is found throughout all the Bible. It is in a sense promised to those who believe. I really like the verse Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (ESV) even though it does not use the word hope this verse promises me hope. It tells me that when I wait for God my strength will be renewed. I will fly like an eagle. I will not tire as I live my life. I will be able to withstand everything. If that is not a promise of hope, I do not know what is.
This great source of hope is clear in many passages in the Bible. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (ESV) 1Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (ESV) and Romans 5:5, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (ESV) There are many more but time does not allow me to quote them all, but you can find about one-hundred of them here.
God’s grace provides me hope. I like to think of an image of God with His open arms stretched out towards me and they are flowing over with grace for all of my needs. He is saying to me, “Jim, take whatever you need. It is free. It is here for you because I love you more than you will ever be able to comprehend. Jim, just take it and use it because in it you will find everything you need.” That to me is the ultimate picture of hope. I want you to know that God has His mighty arms full of grace reaching out to you saying, “(your name) just take it” and I believe this is expressed in Romans 15:3, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (ESV)
I pray that you find the only true source of hope as I have. If we seek Jesus then we have true hope, a hope that never fails us because God cares so much for you. He promises to bring change to your life. It is that relationship that solves the problem of sin and brings us hope in the present and the future. I would also encourage you to seek Jesus for He is the only opportunity there is to have eternal life. This is to me the greatest source of hope. In doing so, I believe we will have hope and joy in our everyday lives. Understanding how Jesus Christ grants us access to eternal life, allows us to live in hope. “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (ESV) At the same time understanding you will live eternally knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ will also bring you the greatest hope. Because of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, all of our sins were satisfied and the penalty for them was paid. His payment satisfies all my sins from the past, the present and in the future. My penalty and yours was satisfied on the cross by the death of Jesus, God’s greatest act of love and wrath, who became sin for me and you. It was also God’s greatest act of faithfulness because “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV) Because holiness shows us, we need to believe in Jesus. I hope that you join me in helping others to choose Jesus.
If you have not read my previous blogs, you can find them here. You can watch a book trailer about my book. You can find my book, Hope Amid Hopelessness: Our Abba Father Provides a Way Through Mental Illness here. eBook or Audiobook versions can be found at Westbow Press or Christianbook.com at Amazon or Google.
I mentioned that I was going through a difficult time right now. If you are interested in what I am going through you can read about it here.
