Hope is Eternal

Hope overcomes defeat.  When our favorite sports team has a losing season, we say wait until next year.  In hard times we console ourselves by thinking tomorrow will be better.  Natural man needs to look forward to things getting better.  There is a quote credited to Hal Lindsay, "People can live 40 days without food, 3 days without water, 8 minutes without air, but only a second without hope."  While the exact duration may vary, the point is that hope is essential for life.  

Just what is hope?  A dictionary states, "a feeling of desire for something and confidence in the possibility of its fulfilment," but a simpler definition is that we trust things will work out for good.  We expect to make it through and be okay. 

The words in Romans 14:4 give Christians a strong foundation for this vital quality, "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."  God's Word was written to give us hope, a confident expectation that God will fulfill His promises.  However, it also includes the admonition to persevere.  Since faith is the evidence or substance of things hoped for, likewise, this "patience" or "endurance" quality is required.  Faith and patience inherit the promises.  

There is a place of rest or peace that comes from setting our mind on the spirit, on the truth of God's Word (which is spirit and life), and holding fast to that promise through whatever challenges and conflicting thoughts may come.  We can choose to take our thoughts captive to obey Christ (and the promises He has given), knowing that His words have divine power to overcome all the lies of the flesh or of the enemy.  A good way to hold on is to speak the Word out loud.  Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  Just as God spoke the world into existence, our words carry life or death.  Choose life by speaking God's truth and refusing to give place to the negative.

Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to be our helper and comforter.  One of the ways He helps us is by leading us to truth and bringing into remembrance the words of Jesus.  When we hear the voice of the Spirit and settle it in our hearts, this becomes a sure anchor of hope that He will confirm His Word.  We can stop striving or worrying about the situation.  "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:13)

Psalm 62:5 instructs us to "wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him."  Take time to let the Word of God replace our human thinking and choose to trust Him to do what He says.  Then hope will be so much more than the wishful thinking that "hope springs eternal" suggests, but rather an eternal rock upon which we stand unshakeable.  As a God of hope, He is pleased, according to Hebrews 10, when we hold fast our confidence to the end.  The Spirit will empower you and strengthen your hope until you see the fulfillment of His promises in all your situations.  Hope is eternal.