I HOPE

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.  (Hebrews 10:23)

What do you HOPE for?  Do you ever lose HOPE?  Is HOPE ever really lost?  Have you ever HOPED against HOPE?  Are you HOLDING OUT HOPE?

There is a difference between Biblical hope and wish fulfillment. Often we use the word ‘hope’, where maybe we should use the word ‘wish’.  Because real hope is not a wish, it’s not a feeling, and it’s not just a desire. “Oh, I hope things get better, soon”.  Real Biblical hope is joyful, confident EXPECTATION. 

A lot of times when we ‘wish’ for something to be true, we aren’t really expecting that it will be.  But hope has an outcome, an expected end.  Wishing has a connotation of undelivered promises.  But hope has a connotation of a delivery you can count on.  Wishing may make you happy for a time, but hope fills you with a lasting joy.  If you look at the word ‘hope’ in the Greek, it is the word “elpis”, and it means JOYFUL and CONFIDENT EXPECTATION of salvation!  When you have hope you have JOY!

Let me ask you something.  Given the choice would you rather be happy or unhappy?  Would you rather be full of joy, or full of sorrow?  Recognizing that there are people with grave emotional disorders who can’t tell the difference, I believe the majority of people would choose happiness over unhappiness – joy over sorrow, every time.  Did you know it’s a choice?  Living a life of hope is something that we CHOOSE.

Some would say, “What do you mean we choose it?   Like I have a choice.  You don’t know all the bad things that have happened to me.  Maybe YOU can choose to be happy and full of joy, but I don’t have the choice to be joyful, my circumstances prevent it!”

Living a life of hope has nothing to do with our present circumstances.  Because HOPE and FAITH work together to produce an unwavering belief in an outcome that is GOOD, regardless of our present circumstances.  Some would say, “But all around me my life is falling apart.  Bad luck just seems to chase me down, it’s waiting behind every corner, I’m like a magnet for sorrow and discontent”.

Here’s the good news:  Hope renders our present circumstances powerless to control our lives.  Have you got problems, concerns, fears, anxieties, cares, and difficulties?  You’re in good company.  And that stuff doesn’t disqualify you from having hope.  It makes you a perfect candidate for it!  That’s right, when you have difficulty in life, you are a perfect candidate for hope.  And it all begins with what you look for.

But now, Lord, what do I look for?  My hope is in you!  (Psalm 39:7)

There is always difficulty in life.  In every life. And you know that because you’re smart and you have experience with it.  So when you compare your life, with your perception of the lives of others, don’t forget that a life of hope is not a life that is without difficulty.  But it is a life that knows that whatever difficulty may be present, it is not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to come, for those whose hope is in Christ! 

So have hope!  There IS hope for you!  Be like the Psalmist who says to God, “My HOPE is in YOU!”  Guys, hope looks GOOD on you!    Hopeful people are so attractive!  Not boastful, proud and arrogant people, but those whose CONFIDENT EXPECTATION is in Christ.  You want to have a positive impact on the world around you, and draw others to Christ?  Then choose HOPE!