"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:4)
I find it's easy to just brush over the word 'hope' when reading or using it in an every day sentence and I think we can often undermine the meaning of it. What is hope? What do we hope for? What good is it to hope for something? Well, as my wonderful friend Jess Emmett put it "Jesus hope is different to world hope." Its easy to hope for something. For example, I could hope I pass bible school at the end of this month. But what good is that? My hope to pass isn't going to do anything. My hope has to be in something greater, something unchanging and certain - Jesus.
It's impossible to have faith without hope. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. (Heb 11:4) But we are to put our hope in things that are unseen which requires faith. As George Iles puts it; "Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark". How can we have faith in something more than what we know and experience now if we don't first have hope? Our hope comes from Jesus who made a way for us to have life.
If I have hope in Jesus, who I know will never fail me, my perspective is completely different. What can bring us down if we're always in hope for something greater? How can we be pulled down by a situation we're facing and stay there if we're certain of our hope? If our hope is always in something better than ourselves, we're always moving forward.
"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31
What a great reality to live in! Hope is the anchor to the attitude in which we face every situation. When our hope is in Jesus, who is already ruling and reigning in heaven, how can we get bogged down with worries and uncertainties? How can we grow weary or faint? The hope we've been given through Jesus means we can 'soar on wings like eagles', carry on running when things get hard and walk with boldness through every situation we face. Once you choose hope, anything is possible.
More wise words of Jess... "Hope is looking forward in certainty to something greater that is coming." Whats coming? The knowledge of the glory of God filling the earth, His Kingdom reign in every nation, a life worshipping Jesus free of sickness, pain and suffering.
My hope is in Jesus. What is hope to you?
When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
