Hope

We must never give up hope in anything that we believe in. At times, "hope" is all we may have so we have to keep our faith strong and always hope that we can live up to the standards set for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Psalms 42:5, the Bible says: "...Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God." We must put our hope in the Lord, for He will provide us with what we need. There is a very good quote in a book I am reading about this. "Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as it is that we don't know the right thing in which to hope." You see, the Lord will provide us with what we want, as long as what we want is what He sees fit for us to have.

God should be our source of hope. We should turn to Him in our times of need. If we will put everything in the Lord's hands, He will provide for us what we want and desire. We need to be able to run on the assurance that if the Lord sees fit for something to happen, that it will happen. In Psalm 62:5, the Bible says: "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him." If we will feed off of our hope in the Lord, he will take care of us and provide for us.

At time, we may feel like all hope is lost. There is one part in this book where God is standing, in disguise, listening to two desciples discussing his son's death. The two men were worried about the political situation of Israel. They "had hoped" that Jesus would be the one who would redeem Israel. How many times have you heard the expression, "had hoped?"

"We were hoping the doctor would release him."

"I had hoped to pass the exam."

"We had hoped the surgery would get all the tumor."

These are all expressions of disappointment. What we had wanted did not happen so our hope was shattered. But we must remember that the Lord will renew our hope, so long as we don't give up in Him. In Isaiah 40:31, the Bible says: "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." God will not let us get to the point where we cannot go on. He will always provide us with something to continue on with if we keep our hope in Him.

God will always be there for us. He will never give up hope on us just as we must never give up on Him. Hope can be so much more than we can even imagine if we have God's blessings in it. I would like to close with the following quote: "Hope is not a granted wish or a favor performed; no, it is far greater than that. It is a zany, unpredictable on a God who loves to surprise us out of our socks and be there in the flesh to see our reaction."

This passage is found in the NIV Bible. Remember that the Bible is your weapon in our fight against Satan.

Please read this carefully and pass it on to all your family and friends. Please note that these verses come from the NIV.

Smile, God loves you.