The Bible says: “28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31but those who hope in the Lord will re- new their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”. NIV Isa. 40:28-31
As believers, we are to be a people of hope. This simply means that we live governed by an expectation of His promises being fulfilled in our lives. Hope is our reality, or it should be. Our circumstances are just the conditions in which we find ourselves. For His hope to be our reality, the Word must be paramount in our lives. If it is not, then all we hear and see becomes our truth … rather than His Word being the ultimate Truth reigning in our lives—over every negative impossibility. To live with hope is to live with a certainty that surely: “All things are possible with God.” Mk. 10:27
In this world, hopelessness crashes many a party. Looking at your “reality” today could very well cause you to feel despair or fear. That is why the Lord exhorts us to keep our eyes on Him and His Word! His Word brings hope to us and becomes the building block to our faith! God’s Word challenges us daily: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Prov. 3:5-6 NKJV
When we trust Him, we trust His Word to us. David penned, remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. Ps. 119:49-50 NIV David also wrote: You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. Ps. 119:114 NIV
In the NT, Paul proclaimed before King Agrippa: “And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.” Acts 26:6-7 NIV Paul’s faith was built on his hope in God’s promises. Faith that possesses God’s promises is based upon a living hope—His Word cannot fail. Jesus and the Word are one.
Put your full trust in His Word. In doing this, hope (an expectation of His promise to you fulfilled), will rise up in your heart. Hope’s glasses in all circumstances will see God’s reality for you— not the world’s: the doctors diagnosis, the banker’s statement, or the lies of the enemy. Hope sees possibilities. Hope inspires faith. Romans describes Abraham’s faith in this way: Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Rom. 4:18 NIV Abraham’s faith was built on an in-spired impenetrable hope in God’s promise to him. We can have this kind of living hope too.
Choose today which reality will be yours: hope-filled or hope-less. Grab hold of HOPE; re-fuse to have less than what is promised; stand unrelentingly. HIS TRUTH is the reality. The truth the world has is not ours. God’s Word alone has the final say-so across the board of our experiences. Let’s put on Hope’s glasses today and be encouraged. After all, Jesus is our hope and He is very much alive. (1 Tim. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:3)