Got Hope
Got Hope?
Have you ever stopped to think about the meaning of hope? We throw the word around like it is confetti. I sure hope I get to work on time. I hope my son hits the ball tonight. I hope these pants still fit. We use it to describe our wishful thinking – our desire for certain things to happen. It is our attempt to be optimistic and expect positive outcomes – even when we are setting ourselves up to fail by leaving the house later than we should, letting our son swim on game day and finishing out that huge portion of nachos. Ugh!
If you are a believer, you have heard the word hope used differently, haven’t you? It is not wishful thinking at all. Instead as we study God’s word, we quickly understand that our hope is more than just being wishful – it is a confidence – it is confident expectation. Our hope is our belief that God will do what He has promised. This confident expectation that we call hope leaves no room for doubt.
Then suddenly, we have a problem! Our hope wanes. Our circumstances are hard and we feel alone. Things are not going as we had expected. Why is this happening… to ME? Where did this come from? What has caused all of these issues? Who can I blame for this? Why does my life have to be so hard? I am losing hope. We never imagined things would go this way. We thought it would all work out. Our picture of our future looked differently. You see… all of that is just wishful thinking – the world’s definition of hope.
Where does our hope come from? Our hope comes from the Lord. Our hope has a name and His name is Jesus. What does the Bible teach us? The Bible teaches us that God is in control and in Him we can find refuge. It tells us that we should expect times of trouble and tribulation, knowing God will use every one of them for our good – to grow us and to transform us into who He has created us to be. God’s word confirms for us that He sent His only Son to pay the price for our sins and to offer us the gift of His grace and our salvation. Jesus is our living Hope. When we surrender our life to Him, we are promised His presence, His provision, and all of His promises are ours.
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.
Isaiah 40:31
What does this mean? Let’s break it down….
Hope in the Lord– We are to have a confident expectation that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. He sent His son to offer salvation. Our salvation means that we recognize this life is temporary and what matters is eternity. When we enter into the gates of heaven, God will not ask what you accomplished here. He will want to know who you brought with you to the party? Who will be in heaven because you shared this gift of Hope?
Renew their strength– It is exhausting to place our hope in the things of this world. By looking up, trusting God and committing our life to Him, we cannot fail. Faith knows no weariness. We only become weary when we look to ourselves or elevate our earthly circumstances or try to walk in our own strength. Look up and your strength will be renewed.
Soar on wings as eagles– This does not mean that you will fly high and be elevated. Remember, more Jesus – less me. But when we place our hope in the Lord, we are lifted to new heights with Him. We know Him more and experience His presence and His promptings more. We soar closer to God. That is really what our life is all about. Taking step after step after step to know Him more intimately.
Run and not grow weary– We are running a race, even if we do not realize it. We are heading toward the finish line. How are you doing in your race, how well will you finish? Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) When we place our hope in the Lord, we can run our race well.
Walk and not be faint– We have a path to walk but we never walk alone. Our faith is a journey we must continue – on and on and on – until we meet Jesus face to face. You see, God did not call us to accept Jesus as our Savior and then lay on the couch and binge watch tv as we eat a bag of Cheetos. No, He has something for us to do in His strength – to keep going, to keep loving, to keep serving and sharing this Hope that we have received to this lost and dying world.
Hope is a beautiful thing! It is ours when we place our trust, our confident expectation in the One who came so we could have life and have it more abundantly. Hopeful living is abundant living!
Need a Dose of Hope? Join us at the 2019 GatHER - HOPE Conference. Grab your tickets and bring your friends. Check it out at www.gather-women.com. You will enjoy Bible teaching and preaching, Worship, Fun, Shopping, Yummy food and more. Don’t miss it! See you at GatHER on August 24th!
Hi Friends!
Thank you for reading this blog and supporting Master What Matters. We want to help women stop worrying about all the things that do not matter and instead focus on what matters most - our relationship with Jesus. We need each other. Let’s encourage one another as we learn to take steps closer to our Savior! Let’s study God’s word and spend time in prayer, growing our relationship with Jesus, little by little, until we see Him face to face.
We are walking around in a lost and dying world. Maybe, just maybe a message on a t-shirt might make a difference to a stranger and change the course of her eternity. You are invited to visit the Marketplace where you will find the book - Saved by Grace, Now What? and graphic tees.
We need each other. Let’s encourage one another as we learn to take steps closer to our Savior!
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