by"And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee." - Psalm 39:7
The concepts of hope and faith are often intertwined, but they are very different from each other. Faith is usually the bedrock upon which hope is built. Hope emerges when circumstances are uncertain or challenging. It is the positive expectation that things will improve, even when the present situation is hard. You can only hope when you have faith in something. As for Christians, our ultimate hope comes from our faith in Christ. Thus, negative situations do not faze us because we have faith in the unchanging rock, that is, Christ. Continue reading to uncover what it means to hope in God and what this hope does to your life.
The foundation of your hope is God’s love.
In Romans 5:5, which reads, “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”, you can see that the source of hope is God’s love. Jesus tells us of this unconditional and unimaginable love in John 3:16, and if you know of the pain He went through for your sake, you can trust that everything will be alright. Our hope is that He will work things out for our good. So anytime we are devoid of hope, we can turn to the salvation story to remind ourselves of love and His faithful promises.
Hope: my strength and security.
The Bible says in Romans 4:18 that Abraham hoped against all hope. That means there is ordinary hope, but Moses possessed the strength to hope even beyond that, and eventually, he was rewarded. When you hope in God, you get the strength to go beyond ordinary hope to see results. You can only fuel your hope and, eventually, your strength by trusting in what God has said.
Hope is more than just a wish; it’s an anchor you can rely on, keeping you afloat in turbulent times. A lot of times, humans just like to be in control, but when you realize that the storm is beyond your control, instead of falling into despair, you can let go and place your hope in the solid promises of God.
Today, dear one, you can’t be fuelling yourself with music that is depressing or profane because the music you listen to can significantly impact your mood, energy levels, and overall outlook on life. If the music you consume is consistently depressing, it can dampen your spirit and hinder your ability to cultivate hope. Your hope is your strength, and the place to find that is in God’s promises in His Word. Therefore, Psalm 119:49-50 (KJV) says,
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me.”
Hold onto hope.
Depression is fast plaguing Christians today. However, you must fight it if you are dealing with it because it is the quickest thief of hope. The devil doesn’t care about your physical well-being. He’s more interested in attacking your spiritual health. He can weaken your faith by taking away your hope and making you doubt God’s love and power. That is why certain people, after going through trials, say there is no Christ because one of the tactics the devil uses to steal hope in a person is to put him in difficult situations. These trials can be overwhelming and make us lose hope. Once you stop being optimistic and hopeful, your faith starts to shake. The devil is against anything that will cause you to have faith and hope because he knows people full of hope and faith are full of power. Even Matthew 17:20 affirms this when Jesus said,
“… for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain…”.
Always remember, your hope in God is your power. Never leave it aside.
