There’s Hope

If the doctor’s report leaves you stunned…
If you are overwhelmed and see no light at the end of the tunnel…
If you feel lonely, trapped…
If you wonder if things will ever change…
You need hope!

“To live without hope is to cease to live. Hell is hopelessness. It is no accident that above the entrance to Dante’s hell is the inscription? ‘ Leave behind all hope, you who enter here.’” Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Webster’s dictionary defines hope as “a feeling that what is wanted will happen; a desire accompanied by anticipation or expectation.” Many people function on feelings and experience roller coaster lives. Up one minute and down the next. While they long for the stability of peace filled lives, their feelings control them. It’s no wonder that they live with hopelessness.

In the process of learning to buy back the past and focus on the future, I’ve discovered that biblical hope has a fuller meaning. It is an optimistic desire with confidence of fulfillment. We do not rely on other people for assurance or to fulfill our desires. We “find rest in God alone; my hope comes from Him,” (Psalm 62:5).

If we know who God is, know His attributes, know even a tiny bit of His great love for us, then we operate on a totally different level of hope. We know that we know—we have a confidence deep down in our hearts— that God will answer us. The answer may not always be what we expect, but it is always what is best for us! Biblical hope does not disappoint us, because “God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:5)

The possibility of lay-offs at work, car accidents, incurable diseases, identity theft, and concerns about the future no longer control our lives. Biblical hope puts a stop to roller coaster feelings. We can remain secure, stable when the doctor announces cancer; the state trooper’s call in the middle of the night confirms your teenager was in accident; or your spouse announces he no longer loves you. While it’s difficult to walk thought these situations, you can do it because the Lord is walking right beside you…and you know it. That’s hope!

God is as near as a bended knee. He is waiting for you to come to Him with a humble, contrite heart, and He’s promised to never forsake you. When the world around you seems to be deteriorating, remember your only real refuge is in Jesus Christ.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake and the swelling thereof…The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:1-3,11).
It’s my prayer that you’ll take time to read, download, and memorize the Ten Truths from God’s Word about Hope.

I’m praying for you!

Edwina