Hope is essential to life. Without it our health declines, our hearts wither within us, and we say,
“Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.”
For this reason, we are constantly looking for sources of hope to buoy our spirits and sustain us in times of trial or difficulty. Many are false hopes, offering counterfeit assurance and fraudulent predictions which appeal to our sinful hearts. We often seek out messages of ease and comfort without the unpalatable constraints of reality:
“If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’ he would be the preacher for this people!”
We delude ourselves into thinking that we are in charge of our own destiny, not God:
“The Lord will not do good, nor will he do ill.”
We put our hope in our money, our jobs, our friends, our children, our homes, our leaders, our doctors, and ourselves, but all of these will fail us in the end:
“The hope of the godless shall perish.”
The only true source of hope is Jesus. Only He knows the beginning from the end because He is both. Only He has the power to accomplish all that we could ever ask or imagine, and only He cares for us enough to carry all our anxieties and bear all of our burdens. His is a living hope:
“He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
God thus commands that we turn away from all other sources of hope and focus on Him:
“Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Thank You, Lord, for being the sure and steadfast anchor of my soul, the Rock in whom no one will ever be put to shame! Be my portion forever, and my hope of eternal life!
“Though he slay me, I will hope in him.”
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”