All Hope!
We have all experienced those times when things and people fail us. When things don’t work out as we want, when relationships fail, or even when we experience the pain of great loss, and the world around us seems to be breaking apart, we must remember that we are children of God. All our hope is in Him! Our Father in Heaven has opened the door and is waiting for us to walk in. All we have to do is knock.
Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
God is so good that He prepares us ahead of time for the hard times that will come. He tells us that if our hope is only for this world, we will be deeply disappointed, even pitied.
I Corinthians 15:19
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Why would the Creator of the world tell His creatures not to put hope in this world? Because we are created for a relationship with Him, not with worldly things! Our souls long for hope, the hope that only the Lord God can give.
In this world, we will face loss, but through our living hope, we can enjoy a relationship with a good Father who is ready to embrace, protect, guide, and forgive His children. Even our failures and sins, which can drive us to despair, are forgiven and healed at the cross.
Our wounds and hurts ultimately serve as testimonies to His love. We are told not to put our hope in the things that are seen, but to place our hope in the things that are unseen.
2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Why? Because the things we see will fail us. Even in prosperity, our flesh is never satisfied; but in Him, while we may not see Him, all our hopes rest in Him.
Psalm 62:5-6
Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
As men of God, when we face despair or loss of hope, all we need to do is turn to our Father in Heaven. In Him, we find rest and love that never fails. So, as the things around me fail and even seem to be becoming worse, I know that my Heavenly Father sees all things and knows all things. I know that He is working out all things for my good, all things!
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Men, our Hope starts with Him and ends with Him. Hope is found in His Word. His Word is alive and active, calling us to seek Him, so He can heal our wounds and direct our paths. Everything begins and ends at the cross of Christ and His words. He is our unseen Savior who helps us make sense of the seen! We have been raised with Christ to a living hope!
1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.
Have a blessed weekend!
Stephen L. Thomas